Memories of the Dance We Shared
by Auburn Red
Summary: An average day with his father and daughter becomes not so average for Max Goof when he researches his past and discovers some things about his father and his late mother. Contains excerpts from the journal of Penny Pooch Goof AKA Mrs. Geef/Mrs. Goofy
1. Goofy and Max: Please Remember Me

Memories of the Dance We Shared

A Goofy Movie Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Disclaimer: I created Trixie Goof, but the rest of the family belongs to The Walt Disney Company. Penny Pooch originated in the Minnie & Me franchise from the early 90's (and possibly in the comic books). However, I created her parents and her wealthy background.

I will also refer to multiple sources about Goofy, Penny, and Max including the early Goofy shorts, Goof Troop, Goofy Movie, Extremely Goofy Movie, House of Mouse, Once Upon A Christmas, and Twice Upon A Christmas (I do like Mona, but I only just saw 2UAC for the first time this past month and the story was already planned out with Roxanne so she will remain Max's wife and Trixie's mother. But Mona will be a part of the goings-on later).

Kingdom Hearts will not be referred to (It's kind of hard to shoehorn in Goofy becoming a knight, Mickey becoming a king etc. into the storyline), nor will Epic Mickey.

I am letting you all know, that I am not very familiar with the comics so I will not be referring to them at all except a reference to April, May, and June and that Penny's middle and mother's maiden name will be familiar to readers of the early Goofy comics.

The titles of the fanfic as well as the chapters are from country songs. Goofy always struck me as someone who is a country music fan (as well as a fan of mambo and disco, as we well know. :D) The title is a line from the Garth Brooks song, "The Dance" and the title of the first chapter is from the song, "Please Remember Me" by Tim McGraw

Oh and also for the most part I know Disney does a lot of parodies of names ("Amelia Airhead" for Amelia Earhart, "Kon-Ducky" for Kon-Tiki etc.). For the most part, I will use the real titles of things and I will only use the parody titles if they were already introduced by Disney beforehand. (Plus, in some of the more recent stuff they seemed to have foregone them and used real names and titles.)

Summary: An average day with his father and daughter becomes not-so-average for Max when he remembers his past and learns about his father and his late mother. Contains excerpts from the journal of Penny Pooch Goof.

Chapter One: Goofy and Max: Please Remember Me

Goofy looked outside of his house as the new shiny red car pulled up next to his old green jalopy. He joyfully waved at his two favorite people in the world, tripping over the door outside of the frame as he greeted them. He looked upside down as a little girl skipped up to her grandfather hand in hand with her father who rolled his eyes, shook his head, but laughed like he expected something like that.

"Hi ya, Maxie, Hi ya Trixie," Goofy said still seeing them upside down.

Max opened his mouth to correct his father once again, but had a feeling that his insistence would fall on deaf ears, so he just helped Goofy to stand. "Are you okay, Dad?"

"Right as rain, my boy," Goofy said. "I hit my head, probably my brain, nothing I would need." He gave his son a hug then leaned down to be face level with his three-year-old granddaughter. "And how's my favorite grandbaby?"

Trixie Goof laughed at her grandfather. "Gran'pa Goof, I'm your only gran'daughter."

"Well then that makes you my favorite, don't it?" He laughed. Trixie laughed back together doing the classic "Ahyuck!" laugh with her Grandpa. Max gave a small grin but laughed as well.

"And how's Roxanne?" Goofy asked about his daughter-in-law.

"She's fine," Max said. "She sends her love." Max's wife was out of town for her cousin's wedding. Max wasn't able to come with her, because of pressing issues at work, so he offered that he would look after Trixie. "Besides you know how nuts Dad is about her," Max reminded Roxanne. "We could visit him too." It was fortunate that they made this plan, because recent developments at work was another reason for Max to pay his father a visit.

"Well why don't you two come inside and have some fun," Goofy invited.

Max glanced through various drawers taking out any paperwork that looked like it could be his birth certificate. Goofy and Trixie were playing with Trixie's App Game "Lester's Possum Pals' Hunt." Max sighed embarrassed as the App character said in that annoying high voice, "Who's Your Favorite Possum!?" Trixie and Goofy answered, "Lester!" as Trixie began her game.

"Trix," Max sighed annoyed at hearing the game for the hundredth time. "Remind me to thank your mother for downloading that game for you." Of course Roxanne thought it was hilarious but Max not so much.

"I will," Trixie said joyfully as she returned to it. Max glanced fondly at his daughter playing the game. She had her father and grandfather's dark hair tied into a ponytail, but her mother's smaller face and eyes and was dressed in a yellow shirt and blue overalls. Beatrix Penelope Goof was a bundle of energy that seemed to bounce or skip everywhere she went. Sometimes her parents had to struggle just to keep up with her, but they loved her truly. They loved playing with the little girl, because she could take the smallest things and make a game out of them. Max remembered sometimes when Trixie would take out her father's socks or a piece of cloth and the two would engage in an amusing game of tug-of-war with Trixie grabbing one end and Max, the other, sometimes with their teeth.

Sometimes when Max looked at her, he couldn't believe three years had already gone by. It seemed like only yesterday when she was just a tiny red bundle brought home from the hospital wrapped in her little pink blanket needing to be changed, or fed, and laughing whenever her parents picked her up and held her. Until Trixie had been born, Max never understood why his father embarrassed him so much but now being a father himself, he could finally understand that wistful nostalgia of wanting your child to stay young forever.

Max cleared his throat before his eyes filled and he pretended to be focused more on the papers around him. "You know Dad, if you organized your files and paperwork or the rest of the house, things would be a lot easier to find." He looked around at the mess that was his father's house. It was completely disorganized with dishes in the sink and clothes on the floor. He glanced at the floor at some bills that had clearly been unpaid. He remembered that the previous month, he had to basically block the repo man from possessing his dad's car, before he could pay for it. Max would seriously wonder if his dad was getting senile, but he was always this absent-minded. When he was growing up, Max seriously wondered at times who was taking care of who. Without saying it out loud, that was why even though he had several good job offers after graduation, Max opted to remain in Spoonerville to continue to take care of his father as well as his Dad looked after him.

"Shucks, Max, I know where everything is," Goofy said. "What are you looking for anyway?"

"My birth certificate," Max said. "I'm up for a promotion at work and they want to have all my paperwork to process it, probably to make sure that I'm not an ax murderer or a member of ISIS or something."

Goofy stood up and crossed his arms defiantly. "How dare they say that my boy has problems with his eyes? Why your irises are just fine!"

Max was stunned. "What-? No, ISIS Dad, not iris! The terror- ah forget it, you know you could watch the news a bit more!"

"Too depressing for me," Goofy said. "Though your Uncle Donald never sent thanks for my text congratulating him on being President."

Max sighed. How could his father be that clueless over current events? "Not Donald Duck, Donald-Never mind!" He said figuring that it was a lost cause and frankly between the two, Max would have preferred his Uncle Donald becoming President over the alternative. But on the other hand, with his temper, Donald Duck would have declared war on the rest of the world before his four years up. ( _So in other words_ , _possibly no change,_ Max wryly thought).

"Daddy's going to be on TV like Mommy," Trixie said.

"You don't say," Goofy said.

Max shook his head. "I _might_ be on TV, Trix," Max corrected his daughter. He had been a news researcher and writer for one of the TV stations and would soon be possibly promoted. Roxanne had also been working to be on television too and had just become one of the lifestyle/human interest story reporters. "If this promotion works out for me, I will be one of the on air news reporters."

"Well I'll make sure I record every single episode," Goofy said. "Maybe I could be on television myself. You always said that I make news!"

"I didn't mean it as a compliment dad," Max said recalling the many times that his father broke things, caused accidents like fires, and other times. Rather than go into another diatribe about his father's clumsiness, Max reverted to the main issue at hand. "My birth certificate isn't in here."

"Well you were born, I'm sure of that. Your mother spent hours in the delivery room groaning in labor-"

"-Ahh," Max said jokingly putting his hands on his ears. "La lalala! Not hearing this! Don't want to hear this!"

Trixie and Goofy laughed. Max put his hands off his ears as he laughed too. "Max, if it ain't there, it's probably upstairs in the attic."

Max looked upwards. "Figures, the Room That Time Forgot."

"I can get it if you want," Goofy offered. "I think I know where it might be."

"No, I'll get it," Max said. "If I'm not down in 24 hours send a search party."

"Need any help, Daddy?" Trixie asked.

"Nah, I think I can manage," Max said. He leaned down. "Just make sure you stay out of trouble."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Goofy promised.

"I wasn't talking to her," Max said wryly.

It took a second for Goofy to realize what his son meant. "Touche," he said though he pronounced it "toosh."

Max rolled his eyes and offered a thin laugh. "I'll be back soon."

Dust hit Max's nostrils the second he opened the attic door as he gave a few involuntary coughs. He opened his water bottle and took a few gulps to quench his dry throat. He probably should have gotten a mask to cover his mouth and nose, but he just let the room air out for a little bit before he entered the room. The attic was so small that Max had to slightly crouch down before he entered and stood. He looked around at the sports equipment inside, skis, golf clubs, footballs, soccer balls. Max chuckled. His dad really must have tried just about every sport. He knew that the X-Games Championship Trophy wasn't up there, because his father told Max that it was in a special place on a case in his room. Max looked amused at the pile of books that lay next to the sports stuff. Mostly they were How To…books. Amused and curious, Max read the titles to some of them: How to Be A Detective, How to Dance, How to Sleep. ( _Really Dad,_ Max thought, _Sleeping? That was a stumper for you?)_ He thumbed through some of them reading through some of the passages mostly from a very condescending author. Max also looked at some filmstrips that bore the same titles. He guessed they were the film versions of the books. _Yeah people in Dad's day used to obey disembodied voices an awful lot_ , Max thought. He also found some copies of the movies that his dad and their friends made, many of which were edited with titles. He read the titles _Knight for a Day, Motor Mania, Goofy and Wilbur_ , etc. Max rolled his eyes. His dad and his dad's friends sometimes acted like a bunch of cartoons when they were together.

He was about to head for another corner of the attic when his foot tripped against one of the ski poles. He tried to free his foot but he banged against the skis and other items as Max tripped into them. With a classic family, "Yahahahooey!" Max fell to the floor.

"You alright in there Son?" Goofy's voice called.

"Just fine, Dad," Max called. "Nothing hurt." _Just my pride,_ Max thought.

Max brushed dust off his blue jeans and red hoodie sweat shirt, rose from underneath the mess and tried to put away the items as he found them. His eyes wandered to a small shelf with several photo albums and files. Max reasoned if his birth certificate was anywhere, it would probably be there. He moved aside his old stuffed teddy bear, Old Stuffed Bear, and took out several photo albums. He opened a photo album to see if he could find it inside. Most of the photos were of Max, Goofy, and their old friends such as Uncle Mickey and Uncle Donald. Max counted in his head that the last time they were all physically together was a Christmas a few years ago when they helped Mickey look for Pluto then spent the day singing Christmas carols. That was what? Six, seven years ago maybe? (It had to be. Max was still with Mona then. They had mutually broken up partly because Max realized that he was still in love with Roxanne, and also because their post-college plans were going to take each other on different paths. Max and Mona had remained friends and even attended each other's weddings, Max's to Roxanne and Mona's to another friend, Tank.)

Max continued to be Facebook friends with Huey, Dewey, and Louie and still kept up with them. He knew that the triplets had finally carved their own identities and worked in different fields. Though their individuality only went so far, they married three sisters. Huey and his wife, April currently worked for their Great Uncle Scrooge McDuck's business in Marketing and Public Relations, respectively. Dewey worked in Artificial Intelligence and his wife, May was a Genetics Researcher both under Professor

Ludwig Von Drake. While Louie discovered his talents in agriculture and veterinary science by inheriting his Great-Grandma Duck's farm and his wife, June, was excellent at making organic natural foods and products. Even though the triplets drove him crazy when he was younger, he had a lot of fun with them. The quartet could cause quite a bit of mischief such as that last Christmas when they were all together and Max and the trio sang the mondegreen parody versions of various carols such as "Police Got My Car" For "Feliz Navidad" and spent the night riffing on classic Christmas movies. (Such as while watching the CG Christmas Carol when Belle said her famous line, "Maybe you be happy in the path you have chosen," Max and the trio imitated Bill Murry from Scrooged: "Well I am happy in the path that I have chosen…!")

Max's best friend, P.J. was still an active part of his life as one of the camera operators for the TV news station. This promotion would not only benefit Max, but also P.J. as he could be an action camera operator working alongside his old buddy. P.J.'s wife, Passion, often welcomed her friends and husband at the café she owned, the Bean Scene where she hosted poetry slams, folk/alt/indy concerts, and other public events. Max also kept in touch with his friend, Bobby Zamurski, a standup comedian, who lived in Los Angeles with his wife, Stacy, an attorney.

He smiled at the thousands of memories with those guys, good and bad and how they stayed together through everything.

Max flipped a page to see a photo of Goofy with Mickey, and Donald their arms around each other. Under the caption in his father's handwriting Max read the legend: "The Three Mouseketeers Together Again." Max reasoned if he had a thousand memories of times with the triplets and P.J., his dad must have had about a million memories with Uncle Mickey and Uncle Donald. He knew what his dad had said about him and his two "bestest buddies in the world." That their friendship began because the three shared the mutual loss of being orphaned at young ages and bounced around from various relatives and foster homes, never feeling a permanent place anywhere until the day they met at the Ub Iwerks Children's Home so long ago. ("Gawrsh it feels like we have been friends for nigh on 90 years now!" Goofy always declared.)

With their penchant for pranks, getting into fights, and overall silliness, the trio were the bane of the existence of Mr. Oswald and Mrs. Ortensia, the children's kindly, but often exasperated children's home directors and Miss Alice, the Home's equally kind and exasperated assistant. However, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy considered each other the family that they never had or had, but felt unwanted by. Through school, countless jobs, romances, and adventures the three had shared an unshakable bond, like blood brothers, who would be there for each other no matter what.

Even the distance couldn't part them as Dad was still here in Spoonerville currently working at a children's day care. Mickey still ran the House of Mouse in Downtown Toon Town while his wife, Minnie ran Minnie's Bow-tique (and was a stockholder in the House of Mouse as well). Donald put his Naval experience to good use working in Duckburg, under his Uncle Scrooge with some top secret "hush/hush" defense contracts in Duckburg while his live-in girlfriend, Daisy was a TV National News Anchor. (In fact she provided recommendations for Max and Roxanne to get their jobs at the TV studio).

Max was so lost in the album that he almost forgot the reason that he was up in the attic in the first place. He closed the book and searched through the shelf again.

Max crouched forward as he saw a small manila folder with words in his father's hand writing: My Maxie: The Early Years.

"Bingo," Max whispered as he opened it. Several photographs and other things fell out. Max peered through them as he replaced the items. There were the typical baby things, booties encased in bronze, a plaster of his tiny footprints, baby teeth (prominently bucked of course). He picked up the photos one by one as he rolled his eyes in embarrassment grateful at least that his Dad still hadn't figured out how to use social media. Otherwise these pictures would be in front of the whole world instead of inside this attic.

He looked through them as he saw pictures that showed his first tooth (which he then obviously used to bite his dad's finger), his first step (inside a vase that Dad tried to get his foot out of it) and his first word (judging by the picture showing his Dad washing Baby Max's mouth with soap was probably something he learned from Uncle Donald or maybe P.J's dad _. No wonder I never liked Life Boy_ , Max thought wryly). At the time, Max's hair was red, but he knew that it had darkened over the years. He also saw some other photos of himself slightly older getting into mischief, such as drawing on the walls, waving to his terrified Dad as he wandered off onto an amusement park at the beach by himself, pestering his Dad when he wanted to read the paper, and knocking down a block tower.

Max suddenly had a sense of déjà vu as he remembered a phone conversation that he had with his Dad only a few weeks ago. Exhausted by a particularly trying day with

his hyperactive daughter, Max listed his frustrations to his father: "She never picks up her toys when I tell her to…I think that girl spends most of her life in Time Out….She draws on the walls….Her mother and I can't sit down for one minute before she's off and running again usually into trouble…I think 'No' must be her favorite word…." After Goofy told his son to relax, Max interrupted, "Come on Dad, you have never known a more trouble making kid!"

From the other side of the phone, Goofy chuckled and simply said, "Oh, yes I had."

After that phone conversation, Max practically collapsed in his room when Trixie jumped out of her room and tackled her father with a big hug. "Good-night Daddy, I love you," She said.

Touched, Max smiled and held her as well, all frustration was gone. "Good-night, Trixie, I love you too to the moon and back."

Max returned to the present. "Aww Dad, I guess I deserved that," he said with a laugh figuring what goes around must come around. "Karma can be a real bitch."

Thinking about Trixie made Max wonder how she and Goofy were doing. Max crept to the attic door and held it open just a crack. He heard disco music playing in the living room as Goofy called "C'mon Trixie. Dance with your Grandpappy!"  
Max chuckled softly as he heard his daughter giggle clearly enjoying the show. "Did you used to dance like this, Gran'pa Goof?"

"Sure, Trixie Belle, it was my jelly!" Goofy said.

Trixie laughed out loud. "You mean your jam, Gran'pa!" Max cowered embarrassed at his father getting the word mixed up. _And the term "my jam" was officially pronounced dead at 5:00 PM_ , Max thought looking at his watch.

"I'll bet you like listening to that Powerline stuff," Goofy guessed.

Max could tell his daughter was making a face. "You mean that old stuff Daddy listens to no!"

Max playfully pretended to fall over in despair at his daughter calling his music "old." Of course he remembered that he had that "feeling old" realization when he read that Powerline had recently celebrated his 45th birthday. _No no,_ Max thought desperately, no _one I liked should ever be approaching their 50's or be described as an aging pop star, ever!_ Knowing that his music was now a fodder for 90s nostalgia or derision was a bit disconcerting and made Max feel more than a little old. Max laughed knowing that his father and daughter were having fun, so he returned to his search for his birth certificate.

As he returned the photos to the folder, a small brittle piece of paper caught Max's eye. He unfolded it and smiled. There it was: "Maximilian George Goof, Certificate of Live Birth." Max ran his finger through the names of his father: George G. Goof. He particularly traced the letters of his mother's name: Penelope Glorybee Libertee Pooch Goof. Max refolded the certificate and placed it in his pocket, pleased that the search was over. He was about to stand up to leave the attic, when another photograph caught his eye. It was face down, so Max had to turn it over. The picture he saw made his heart skip a few beats. He saw a beautiful red-haired anthromorphic dog woman in a green hospital gown holding a small newborn. Max read the caption: "Penny and Max, the Loves of Ma Life: First Picture."

"Hi Mom," Max said feeling his eyes mist over as he fingered the picture tracing his late mother's face. He could see the big smile on her face and the love shining in her eyes.

Looking at his mother's photograph made Max wistful and longing. He opened another photo album mostly of childhood pictures of his dad and himself including that Christmas when his Dad made him believe in Santa Claus again despite Pete telling him that it was "an urbane myth like the Loch Ness Monster."

It didn't surprise Max that most of the pictures were of him and his Dad, even when his mother was still alive. All of his strongest clearest memories were of his father making him laugh, playing with him, and rocking him back and forth when he had a nightmare or was frightened by a thunderstorm. He couldn't ever remember a time when his father wasn't there.

Dad explained to him once that Goofy had opted to be a stay-at-home Dad taking care of the house, doing all of the cooking and cleaning, and looking after little Max while his wife worked. "I wanted to have you by my side all the time," Goofy said. "Your Mama was the same way too, but she also loved her job and was good at it so we both agreed. It was the best job I ever had." While that was no doubt true, Max realized, considering his father's subsequent checkered employment history, there was also the practical reason that Goofy had difficulties holding down a steady job. It was much better that his wife would be the one working and bringing home a dependable income while her husband managed the household.

Max's memories of his mother were hazy at best like a face in a fog that he could almost make out. He remembered her holding his hand when Penny used to take him for walks. He remembered watching at the doorway waving good-bye to her, standing next to his dad, who was dressed in his frilly pink apron, while she drove away. He remembered her entering his room every night to give him a good-night kiss. It never mattered what time it was or how late she came home, she always kissed her son good-night. Then most of all that fateful day when his father explained that his mother wouldn't be coming home. He also recalled the days afterward at her funeral when everyone was dressed in black and looked so serious and sad, especially his father, Goofy, who just held Max the entire time. He also remembered the many nights afterwards when Max stared at his bedroom door and prayed and prayed that it would open and his mother would come in to give him his good-night kiss.

There were things that he wished he could remember of her beyond that, but he never asked his Dad too much about her because it always made him sad. After all this time, he still missed his wife (Which was probably why he and Sylvia finally broke up. Like Max and Mona, it was a mutual break up, but Max had a feeling that Sylvia realized that she could never compete with a ghost.) Whenever Goofy talked about his late wife, it was always in generalities, how beautiful she was, how kind and patient, and how much she loved her husband and son.

Those were nice things, but there was so much more that Max wanted to know about this woman who gave him life, but had never really been a part of it: What was she like as a kid? What was her favorite song, favorite movie? What did she want to be when she grew up? What did she think of the Goof she later married? Who were her friends? Who was her family? Did he even have any Libertee Pooch relatives? Hell, what job did she have that she apparently "loved and was good at?" What were Christmas or birthdays like when she was around? Would she have been proud of Max, upset with him for being embarrassed at his father, overjoyed about being a grandmother?

But apart from those hazy memories, there was nothing there in his mind to hold onto like he blocked her out, maybe like he deliberately blocked her out. _No don't go there,_ Max told himself, _The way that Dad talked about her, you know she was good and kind. The woman holding you was someone worth remembering. You were just too little. She died when you were too young to remember her, that's all._ It didn't make Max feel better to think that way. Instead he felt angry and cheated.

Max wiped away the tears from his eyes as he placed the album back on the shelf when an envelope fluttered out of the pages. Max opened it to read the contents.

Another official certificate unfolded in front of him, only it wasn't as happy as his birth certificate. He read the title "Toon Town County Coroner's Office Official Certificate of Death." Once again Max read his mother's name and traced his finger along the letters: "Penelope Glorybee Libertee Pooch Goof." He read the coroner's description, so cold and so matter-of-fact about the injuries that she had sustained from a head on automobile collision with another car including internal hemorrhaging, numerous facial and chest lacerations, among others. The coroner's report said that "Death occurred instantaneously."

Max's chest constricted as he could almost recall something: _He could see bright lights surround Mommy's car and could just hear Mommy's voice yell, "Maxie" before he got pushed forward his face smooshed by the driver's seat in front of him._

Max shook his head. "No," he said desperately "That's not what happened!" He knew it. He remembered it. He and his father waved his mother good-bye like they always did and later that night, his father came into his bedroom and said that Mommy wasn't coming home that she was going to live up there among the stars.

Max dropped the death certificate on top of the other part of the envelope. Max's hands shook as he picked it up. It was an insurance report that showed a classic yellow automobile completely destroyed. Max read the caption, as clinical and cold as the coroner's report: Saved for insurance purposes. Automobile Condition: Totalled. Cause of Misfortune: Collision. Occupants: 2; One deceased, other hospitalized.

The final words of the document ran through Max like a booming bell: _Occupants: 2, one deceased, other hospitalized_. The bright lights and his mother's scream once again ran through Max's consciousness. _I was in the car with her,_ Max said _, I was there when she_ _died!_

Max shook his head throbbing his forehead with his hands trying to block out the information that he had just learned and was beginning to recall. He hyperventilated and rocked back and forth. He tried to rationalize these thoughts. After the entire insurance caption just said there was another occupant. It may not have necessarily been him! Maybe he was getting this memory confused with all of the action movies and cop shows that he had seen over the years showing gruesome violent death scenes! _Seriously Dad really should have forbidden me to watch them if I'm going to think of stuff like this,_ Max thought.

Max continued to rationalize as his eyes fell on Old Stuffed Bear glancing at him. Suddenly words came to his mind: _He kept saying, "Mommy, Mommy look at me!" with his mother responding, "Not now, Max!"_

 _Finally, he could hear his_ _voice whining, "Mommy, get Ol' Stuff Bear!" as he pointed under the driver's seat where his friend had fallen._

 _He could just hear Mommy saying, "Max," then becoming angry as she turned around to look at him "Maximilian, I am trying to watch the road!" Just then she turned to look at the road and Max could only see bright lights and Mommy's arm in front trying to protect him. Then he could hear Mommy's voice yell, "Maxie!"_

Max felt sick as he dropped the picture. He felt numb for a second as the truth hit him. "I killed her," Max whispered. He coughed and gulped nausea came through his throat. All of his emotions overpowered him at once: grief, sadness, guilt, despair. "It was my fault she died!" he said aloud as he ran from the attic.

Goofy watched the new Lester's Possum Pals show with his granddaughter while she drew a picture. He couldn't really get into this new style of computer animation. Why did animation companies feel like they had to improve on their creations by animating them this way? Was it all about money? In Goofy's mind, if it wasn't broke don't fix it. Trixie however loved the current Lester show a lot better than the old one. Sometimes she didn't always have the concentration to pay attention to the older program and she clearly loved the bright colors and fast movement. While he didn't like Lester that much at all, Max had his own opinion about the debate between newer and older animation styles. He understood both his father and his daughter's points of view. He liked the older styles because he grew up with him, but was fascinated by the improvements that current programs and movies were doing. Plus as he reminded his father, they were still the same characters and stories that people loved. What did it matter how they were done?

Goofy looked downward at his granddaughter's picture, as she put down her crayons obviously finished. "What's that you're drawing there, Trixie Belle?"

Trixie picked up the paper and showed her drawing in crayons. She pointed at three stick figures. Two were taller, one with dark hair and the other with red. Between them was a smaller stick figure with dark hair. "That's Daddy and that's Mommy and that's me!"

"Well I can see that," Goofy held Trixie on his lap. He pointed at another stick figure that was taller than the other three with very large buck teeth on the face and big ears. "Now, who's this here handsome feller?"

"That's you, Gran'pa," Trixie insisted.

"Why so it is," Goofy said proudly as he ticked the little girl. She laughed in her grandfather's arms.

"You like it Gran'pa?" Trixie asked.

"Why that's an art work worthy of my fridge," Goofy said proudly as he led her to the refrigerator and proudly placed it on the door with a refrigerator magnet of a grasshopper playing the fiddle.

Goofy was about to accompany his granddaughter back to the living room when he heard the attic door slam and could hear someone running downstairs. Having that parental sixth sense, Goofy could sense something was wrong. "Maxie?" he asked worriedly. As if in answer to his question, Goofy could see his son running through the house and out the door, coughing and sobbing all at once.

"What's wrong with Daddy?" Trixie asked worried.

"I don't know," Goofy said. Max ran out the door slamming it shut behind him. Goofy knelt down to be eye level with his granddaughter. "Trixie, could you be a good girl

for me and wait in the living room while I go talk to your Daddy?"

"I'm always a good girl," Trixie insisted. "Even if Mommy and Daddy don't always thinks so!"

"Yeah, I'd bet," Goofy said with a thin smile certainly recognizing that mischievous grin on both Trixie and her father. "I'll be right back, Trixie Belle. I'm sure Daddy's alright."

 _I hope so_ , Goofy thought.

Goofy opened the door to see Max huddled on the walkway rocking back and forth hugging himself across the chest. As Goofy walked closer, he could see that Max vomited onto the ground below. He continued to breathe deeply and gasp out sobs. His face was completely flushed with tears. Goofy didn't know what caused his son to be in this state, but knelt down next to him and held his son in his arms. "Take a deep breath," Goofy said. "Come on, keep breathing."

Max rocked himself and vomited once more, but he obeyed his father. He shook as his father held him tightly. "I know, I'm 30 years old," Max said. "I shouldn't be acting like this! Men aren't supposed to cry like this!"

Goofy shook his head as he held his son. "I don't know what rule book you got that out of, but that certainly ain't true. You just have a good cry now, son. Just cry it out, whatever it is." Max continued to sob in his father's arms. "Now what's the matter, huh, Maxie?"

For once Max didn't mind his father calling him, "Maxie," "I can't tell you!" What would he think of him if he knew that his son caused the death of the love of his life? That he had been responsible for the years that they spent missing her, Goofy shuffling from job to job, and all those years of not being able to depend on just about anything but each other?

"Of course you can," Goofy said worried to see his son so out of control, so vulnerable. Goofy had known all along, that Max was emotionally the stronger of the two always trying to be cool, rational, not wanting to give into emotional outbursts. He got annoyed and frustrated, but upon reaching maturity Goofy could never remember a time when his son was too emotional to cope. "It'll help you feel better."

"I just can't, I can't talk about it right now!" Max said. "Please don't ask me!"

Goofy nodded unsure of how to proceed. If something upset Max so much and he didn't want to talk about it, how could his father help him? "Okay, we'll talk about it later," Goofy said in a determined voice that indicated that they _would_ talk about it.

Max nodded as his father helped him stand and led him into the house. Goofy walked his son upstairs into his old bedroom, lay him on the bed, and covered him up with a blanket.

As Goofy closed the door, he came face to face with a three year old girl whose big eyes were filled with worried tears. "Is Daddy sick?" She asked.

Goofy nodded. "Your Daddy's just sick and very sad and he's been crying."

Trixie's mouth dropped open concerned. "Daddies cry?" She said as though the thought were unheard of.

Goofy hugged his granddaughter tightly remembering how often he cried after Penny

died. "Believe you me, Daddies cry all the time," he said as he led Trixie downstairs.

Author's Notes:

It took a lot of thought wondering what the triplets' current lives would be like upon adulthood, but I was up for the challenge. After I thought of them following the career paths of various relatives, the ideas just sort of clicked. Huey seemed the more businesslike, Dewey the scientist, and I pictured likeable Louie becoming a farmer/veterinarian. I also loved bringing in April, May, and June since I always felt that they were criminally underused in the canon, hardly even shown in any of the cartoons. While I am aware that in 2UAC (and most of the cartoons), the boys are portrayed as a lot younger than Max, I enjoyed the attempts to age them between Ducktales and Quack Pack and wish that Disney had done more with that like they did with Max.

See if you can spot the numerous references to various Goofy shorts in the attic. There is also a blink and you'll miss it inside joke about another character played by Pinto Colvig.

The dialogue from the phone conversation that Max and Goofy have about Trixie is word for word from a commercial from the late 90s (I don't remember the product) where a young mother is complaining about her daughter to her mother. Some of the lines are directly from that including "No is her favorite word," and the ending bit where the mother says something like "you have never seen a more trouble making child" and the older mother looks at a picture of her daughter as a kid and says "Oh yes I have."

The comments that Max and the boys make on Christmas are real ones that my siblings and I have made over the years. I credit my brother-in-law for bringing the mondegreen parody, "Police Got My Car" to our attention and the MSTie mixing of Scrooged and A Christmas Carol ("Well I am happy with the path that I have chosen, you little bitch, I couldn't be happier!") is usually said by me and or all of my sisters when watching any version of Charles Dicken's classic.

The reference to the Terrific Trio, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all being orphaned was based on the thought that even though we see or hear about plenty of their relatives, their parents are often MIA. (Some of the comics, I understand mention Donald's mother and Scrooge's sister and in AGM, Goofy mentions his dad but as far as I know Mickey's parents are never discussed). So it figures that the Disney Missing Parent Syndrome would have started from Day One (or Character One). I hope fans and Disney historians will get a kick out of the names of the Children's Home and its staff.

I have to give credit where credit is due and the idea of Goofy being a "stay-at-home" Dad while his wife worked was not originated by me. (even though it makes sense considering Goofy's frequent unemployment) It was originally from Cool Steve's wonderful fic, "The Life and Times of Before and After" (read it if you want a good cry but bring plenty of Kleenex with you). Also Goofy's mangling of "my jam" for "my jelly" was from another terrific fic, SosaLola's "The Reunion at Duckburg"


	2. Goofy and Max: What Hurts The Most

Memories of the Dance We Shared

A Goofy Movie Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Chapter Two: Goofy and Max: What Hurts the Most

Max laid in his bedroom a sobbing heap, not wanting to talk to either his father or his daughter when they entered. Every time, he would wipe his tears with the pillow, the accident came to his mind, the lights, the voices especially his mother's _"Maximilian, I am trying to watch the road!",_ the force of his body as he hit the driver's seat all came flooding back to him. Then his lip would quiver and he would cry again.

Trixie tip toed into her father's old bedroom. "Are you okay, Daddy?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Trixie," Max said softly.

Trixie was about to exit the room when she looked at her Daddy lying in a heap on the bed, his back turned to her. He didn't look like her father at all. He looked _weird!_ She crept to her Daddy and climbed on the bed. She then wrapped her arms around her father and kissed him on the cheek since that's what he and her Mommy always did to help her feel better. "Will this make you feel better, Daddy?"

Max couldn't respond to his daughter except to say, "Thank you, Trix. Can you go on please? I want to be alone for a little while okay?" How could this sweet little girl ever trust him? How could Max ever trust himself with her, knowing what he knew now? He didn't deserve to have Trixie in his life.

"I love you Daddy," Trixie whispered.

She waited a moment before her father answered, "I love you too, Trixie." She waited for her father to say "to the moon and back" like he always did. But when he didn't, Trixie sadly turned from the bed and walked out the door.

As his bedroom door closed behind him, a sickening realization swept over Max: _Trixie's three-years-old, the same age I was when she died! And Roxanne isn't here what if-?"_ Panic filled Max's entire body as he reached for his smart phone and hit his wife's contact number. What if something happened to Roxanne? Would he be able to take care of his daughter alone? Wasn't this what he would have deserved? If his mother couldn't remain in his life, what made him think that his wife would?

Roxanne's phone rang three times and Max hoped beyond all hope that his wife would pick it up. "Max," he sighed with relief as he heard her sweet voice, so light and fun loving. She was clearly having a good time at the wedding unaware of her husband's emotional state.

Max just listened in silence until her voice called his name. "Max, are you still there?"

He hesitated, feeling ashamed for having called her. "Hi Rox, how is it going?" He said trying to sound casual, but inside he was desperate.

"It's been going great," Roxanne said. "Jill and Luke are such a sweet couple! The reception was hilarious. You should have seen Daddy dance with Uncle Ed and Aunt Lilly-"

She was about to continue with the story when she could hear an almost strangled sound coming from her husband's voice, somewhere between a gasp and a sob. "Max, what's wrong? Is Trixie alright?"

"Yeah she's fine," Max said softly as he continued to shake.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

 _No,_ Max wanted to say, _I'm_ _not! Please don't ever leave me!_ Instead he tried to keep his feelings inside as much as he could. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said as his voice quivered. "I'm um, just wanted to see if you were okay and everything is alright-"

"-its okay," Roxanne said seriously sounding concerned. "But it's clearly not with you. What's going on? You're scaring me. Do you want me to come home?"

 _More than anything,_ Max thought, but he tried to keep his strength up, tried to deny this feeling was anything but a knee-jerk reaction to his discovery of his mother's death: "No, don't. I'll be fine. We're doing okay, you know us Goofs. We fall down and get up again. I think we fall down, just so we can get up again!"

Roxanne didn't sound convinced and thoroughly confused and Max didn't blame her. "Is there anything I can do?"

 _Do you have a time machine so I can go back in time and stop myself from killing my mother?_ Max wanted to sarcastically ask, _otherwise no._ "No, I'm fine, Rox, really fine. I just wanted to hear your voice. Look, Babe, I have to go."

"Alright," Roxanne said. "I love you."

"You too," Max agreed as he hung up the phone. He no sooner set aside his smart phone than his lip quivered and he sobbed again, flinging himself on the bed.

It was later that evening when Goofy opened the door to his son's bedroom. "Don't you ever knock?" Max said hoarsely all derision, life, or energy gone from his voice. Instead it sounded dead and hollow.

"I think under the circumstantial, I decided to forget all nice teas," Goofy said purposely using the wrong words so his son could correct him or roll his eyes and say something like, "Come on, Dad." In other words so that Max could act normal again.

Goofy gently sat down on the bed across from his adult son. He rubbed his back but Max didn't turn around. There was something lost and gone from his son. Didn't that feller from Hanna-Barbara, Yogi Bear say something about "déjà vu all over again?" (Maybe it was Snaggle Tooth or Huckleberry Hound). But whoever said it, Goofy remembered that he had reacted the same way after his wife died. He just couldn't fathom why Max was acting this way. He didn't understand what had happened up in that attic that caused Max to fall into such despair. "Are you okay, Maxie?" he asked.

Max didn't answer his father's question. "How's Trixie doing? She must have been scared to death."

"She's okay," Goofy said. "She's asleep in the guest room and yeah she was pretty scared. Do you mind telling me why she was scared or why my daughter-in-law just texted me asking what was going on with her husband?"

Max winced with guilt, but he couldn't say anything, so Goofy asked. "Max, you know you can tell me anything and that whatever it is, I will understand."

Max shook his head feeling like he was a kid again asking for forgiveness for some horrible prank that he had been caught committing. "I can't," Max said. "You'd hate me!"

"I could never hate you, Max," Goofy wrapped his arms around his son. "Max, I can't help you if you don't let me."

Max nodded and sat up. "While I was in the attic-which I found my birth certificate by the way-I found some things-"

"-What kind of things?" Goofy asked.

"Well some photos-"Max began.

Goofy cleared his throat embarrassed. "Well, Max, it was at your Uncle Mickey's bachelor party and your Uncles Mickey and Donald and me got really really drunk and we-"

"What?" Max started-no doubt Goofy didn't really think that this was really why Max was this hysterical, whatever it was that those old guys got up to. He was probably trying to make his son laugh or purposely annoying him. "No, I meant I saw some pictures of Mom."

Goofy nodded understanding sort of. "Well I see," Goofy said. "You were so little and it's hard to see her again-"Wouldn't Max be more sad and wistful, not hysterical? Something told Goofy that it was more than seeing photos of his late mother that gave Max this reaction.

Max shook his head. "That's not all. I also saw this." Max showed his father the photograph of the wrecked car and the caption.

Goofy blanched at seeing the photo the memories of his wife's accident filled him once more. _Damn Bureau Crazy,_ he thought angrily to himself, _to tell me to keep the accident information for my personal records and damn me for forgetting to throw it out so Max would never find it._

 _He remembered that awful day. It never left his mind. He remembered kissing Penny good-bye in the rain as she was about to leave to get some things at the store including a new pair of shoes for Max._

 _A clap of thunder hit as Goofy hugged his toddler son and kissed his wife good-bye._

 _Penny went over the list out loud. "So the shoes, milk, eggs, bread, fabric softener-"_

" _-Mommy can we go now?" Max said jumping up and down on his feet excited, Old Stuffed Bear in his arms as always._

 _Goofy and Penny laughed and rolled their eyes, exasperated and amused at their little one's antics. "-Cereal. I guess that's it," she said. "We'd better go."_

" _Dinner will be ready by the time you get back," Goofy promised._

" _Is it going to be good?" Penny asked._

 _Goofy shrugged. "Well you may want to get the fire extinguisher, you know just in case."_

 _Penny gently tapped her husband on the shoulder. "I'm sure it will be wonderful, you silly goof."_

" _Mommy, let's go," Max demanded again._

" _In a minute, Max," Penny said. She turned towards the car and waved good-bye._

" _Drive safely," Goofy said._

" _I will," Penny said. "I love you."_

" _I love you too," Goofy said as she held Max's hand and the two entered the car. Goofy chuckled to himself as his wife made a wide U-turn out of the driveway and onto the road barely missing the mailbox as she drove past. He shook his head amused. "She made it!" He chuckled. "And they say I'm a bad driver."_

 _Goofy wasn't too worried about them until four hours had gone by and neither his wife nor his son had returned. Goofy looked out the window at the evening sky. What could be keeping them? Maybe Penny had run into Minnie or Daisy on the way home and the three had one of their gab sessions. While he knew that the girls were still uncomfortable around Penny, for their own reasons, they were fairly good acquaintances. Maybe that was the reason or maybe Penny had forgotten something else and went back to get it. Goofy opened the pan that held the chicken. Already, the food was getting cold. He placed the lid back on top of the chicken and sat down on the chair, lowering his brow in worry._

 _The phone broke into his thoughts. The house was so silent, that Goofy had jumped about a mile. Goofy was so lost in thought and concern that he didn't realize that another hour had gone by before he heard the phone ring. Five hours since Penny and Max had gone. He reached over and answered the phone. "Hello, Goof residence. This is Goofy speaking, ahyuck," he called out jovially._

" _Mr. Goof," an official voice that Goofy didn't know answered. Goofy listened as the police officer, a Det. Lucky Piquel (a gruff voice that sounded to Goofy a bit like Pete), informed Goofy that there had been an accident. Goofy sank back down on a chair with a lost stunned expression on his face as Piquel told Goofy the news that had made his world collapse in on itself._

 _Det. Piquel, who even looked sort of like a human version of Pete, showed Goofy the body that had once been his wife. Goofy blinked back tears as he nodded seeing the beautiful red hair that he used to put his fingers through, the lovely mouth that always_

 _laughed at his antics or called him "George" when she was serious or "Silly Goof" when she teased, those big eyes that showed an enthusiasm to observe everyone and everything around her, and those white hands that seemed so small compared to Goofy's huge ones. All of those things disappeared from the corpse that lay in the morgue._

 _Goofy asked Piquel where his son was and the police officer informed him that the boy was alive in St. Nowhere General Hospital in Toon Town. Goofy practically flew into the hospital to locate his child. His sighed with weary relief as he saw his son wide-awake in the hospital room. His nose and face were somewhat bruised and the boy sat up listless and tired, but he was alive. Goofy cried partly in grief for his wife and partly in relief for his son as he held Max tightly and listened as the doctor informed him that his son sustained a concussion from the accident and would need medical attention for the next few days._

"I was in the car with her wasn't I?" Max asked returning his father to the present. "The report said that there were two occupants in the car. The other one was me."

"What makes you think that, Maxie?" Goofy asked.

"But it's true isn't it?" Max asked. Even before he answered, Goofy looked at his father's stricken face and knew that it was.

"Was there any investigation into her death-?" Max asked. "I mean she hit another car or the other car hit her-"

Goofy shook his head. "No, there wasn't. The police said that your Mama and the other car swerved at the same time and that it was just an accident." The drivers of both cars had died and no one had the heart to press charges or investigate further. In a way Goofy was fine with that. He was so filled with grief and sorrow for his wife's death, and anxiety for his son's health in the days following the accident, perhaps there was no room in his heart for anger or hatred towards the circumstances causing it. "Why are you asking this?"

"After I found the report and Mom's death certificate, I started remembering things," Max said. "Things like lights and voices and other things-That wasn't how I remembered it before. I just remember waving good-bye at her and then you telling me-! Why am I remembering it like this now? Why didn't you ever tell me that I was with her?! Why didn't you ever tell me that I-!"

Goofy shook his head, "You didn't remember and I didn't want to force you to so I thought that maybe it was better if you didn't. Besides if you couldn't remember, I couldn't forget."

 _Those days after Penny's death were like a nightmare that played in a continuous loop._

 _At the funeral, all of Goofy and Penny's friends offered condolences but Goofy could barely hear them. He gave the eulogy when he talked about how much he loved Penny and how he wished he could have had more time with her and even quoted from some of the essays that Penny wrote. Except for the eulogy, he didn't say anything else just held his son close to him._

 _For many days afterward, Goofy just shut himself down. He didn't go outside his home, talk to anyone, or pay attention to anything. The shades were drawn and no light came inside. Instead he just walked around his house in a mindless fog, unable to even commit to the most basic of his daily activities such as eating or dressing. At night he would lie alone in a bed that was made for two, crying himself to sleep and dreaming of a woman that he would never see in this world again._

 _Practically, he knew that he had to get back to life again. Bills had already begun to pile up, some already with mean red "Past Due" letters. The mortgage on the house had yet to be fully paid and things were bound to get financially worse now that the sole breadwinner was gone. Goofy would have to find a job and soon. But he could not yet find it in his heart to think about any of this. He couldn't think about tomorrow or next week. All he could think of was this moment and that his one true love had danced out of his life forever._

 _If it weren't for Max, Goofy was almost sure that he would have contemplated suicide just so his grief could end and he could be with Penny. But Max was still in delicate health from the concussion, so Goofy continued to take care of his son. He rubbed the boy's wrists, ankles, and temples, gave him medicine for his headaches, and monitored him for any changes in his health. He checked his eyes to see if the pupils were different sizes, gently roused him when the boy was asleep to make sure that he could be awakened, and kept him from any physical and mental activities that would have been too straining. (He really didn't want Max to go to the funeral at all for that reason,_

 _but he was so clingy wanting to be near his father at all times. Besides, Goofy was worried about the stress that the boy would have if he were in the house with a sitter. Goofy allowed the boy to come, but he just kept him by his side.) Because Max was so ill, Goofy wasn't sure how much he understood about his mother dying. He just seemed to take his father's announcement with a quiet exhausted acceptance._

 _As he contributed to care for his son, Goofy gave a silent prayer hoping that God wouldn't be so cruel to take his son shortly after taking his wife. During this time, Goofy's life only boiled down to two emotions: grief for his wife and anxiety for his son. Nothing else remained._

 _Goofy probably would have remained in this black hole of depression if Donald and Mickey hadn't shown up almost two weeks later encouraging him to hang out with them._

" _I was thinking we could have a Guys Day Out what do ya say fella?" Mickey asked in his famous high voice._

 _Goofy sighed, his voice more robotic. "No thanks. I just don't much feel like it. I still can't leave Max alone."_

" _-I thought you said he's getting better," Donald said suspiciously._

 _Goofy nodded. The only time he left the house in nearly two weeks was for a checkup on Max's condition. The doctor said that he had recovered from the concussion and had passed through the worst of it. "He is," Goofy said. "I just don't know if I can leave him alone just now-"_

" _-Ah come on," Mickey encouraged. "Daisy and Minnie said that they'll watch him. They're going to bring Pluto. You know how crazy Max is about him. It's such a nice day." He nodded at the sunshine and the warm weather. The kind of day that Goofy would have been out in, with his wife and son. Looking at the sun made Goofy angry. How dare the sun be out, he thought bitterly. It would make more sense if it were raining and gloomy. Mickey continued encouraging his friend. "You and Max shouldn't be cooped up in the house all by yourselves. It might do you some good to go outside for a little while."_

" _I just don't want to alright?" Goofy said in a tone that his friends weren't used to hearing from their normally klutzy, mellow, happy-go-lucky friend. Instead it sounded bitter, angry, hurt. It wasn't just that Goofy didn't feel ready to go out yet, but he certainly didn't feel like going out with Mickey and Donald._

 _Goofy was about to slam the door on their faces but Mickey's hand and Donald's foot barred the door from closing. "Listen, Goofy," Mickey said. "We're really worried about you. We're your friends and we want to help you. I understand what you're going through."_

" _No you don't," Goofy declared. "You don't understand nothing about what I'm feeling right now!"_

" _Goofy, if something ever happened to Minnie I'd-!" Mickey began but Goofy held up his hand to interrupt him._

" _-But nothing did," Goofy said. That was the truth. He couldn't stand to be with Mickey and Donald knowing that they still had Minnie and Daisy. "Don't tell me you understand what it's like to see that book she was reading lying on the couch and waiting for her to turn the pages! Don't tell me you know what it's like holding her clothes to your face just so you can smell her perfume again! Don't tell me that you understand wanting to touch her hand, or feel her lie next to you, or kiss her-"Goofy couldn't continue, because he was so overcome. He continued angry and sad at the same time. "Half of my life has been ripped out and yours are still here!"_

" _So are you," Donald said firmly. Goofy looked closely at his bad tempered friend. Donald folded his arms and looked straight at Goofy. "You're still here! Penny died, not you!"_

 _Goofy's body shook with grief and ire. He actually wanted to punch Donald for saying that. To his credit, Mickey glared at his friend. "Donald!" He corrected but then he spoke a bit more evenly. "What Donald meant but could have said nicely was-"_

" _-Don't speak for me," Donald held up his hand and walked towards Goofy. "You're right. We don't know how you feel and I really hope Mickey and I never do! But I also_

 _hope that if I ever lost Daisy and I had someone who depends on me as much as Max does you, that I would at least make an effort! You lost your wife, but you also have a son and he needs you and he needs you to show him that it's okay to live again!"_

 _While Goofy didn't exactly leap up with determination after hearing Donald's speech, he did agree to go with them if nothing else because he knew that the two wouldn't leave him alone until he did. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had lunch and took in a park softball game. Goofy didn't say much, just listened to his friends talk about some of the things that had happened during his depression. He nodded barely listening, and still felt weighed down by his loss. He supposed at least Donald and Mickey were relieved that he was outside._

 _Suddenly a miracle happened or what at the time felt like a miracle. A passer-by accidentally dropped his ice cream cone on Donald's lap and the duck yelled, "Hey what's the big idea?"_

 _The other person a very large man towered over Donald and sneered. "What are you gonna do about it, see?"_

" _Why you doggone little I-!"" Donald threatened him the way he always did and Mickey had to drag his friend away._

" _Sorry about that Goof," Mickey said. "Some things never change."_

 _Goofy thought about his friend's anger and how it was predictable almost comforting in a strange way that Donald had fallen into such a familiar pattern. Remembering his friend's constant outbursts reminded Goofy of the many times when he and Mickey had to pull him out of a scrape or a fight. Goofy's mouth slightly rose at the flashback and he started to smile._

 _Then the miracle occurred: Goofy began to laugh. Mickey started to hear his friend's laugh and even Donald stopped his angry tirade when Goofy added his "ahyuck."_

 _The friends smiled as Goofy laughed and laughed. In fact the laugh was so long, that he began to feel sick so he wandered to the men's room._

 _He stood in front of the sink trying to keep from laughing but it didn't work. He laughed as tears fell down his face. He then began to cry. It wasn't the same crying that he had been doing for the past week and a half, the tears of despair and grief. These instead were the tears of release and letting go. He washed his face in the sink and smiled at his reflection. He knew that he would miss Penny forever, but he also knew that he had a life to get back to, a job to look for, and a child that he needed to be strong for: all good reasons to leave his grief behind._

 _When he emerged from the men's room, Mickey and Donald smiled relieved to see their friend's wide grin return. He walked over to his pals, tripping into a park bench and summersaulting on the ground towards them yelling "Yahahahoeyy!"_

" _Yep Goofy's back," Mickey said as Donald nodded in agreement._

 _The first thing that Goofy did when Mickey and Donald brought Goofy home was to open the shades and let light back into the house. He was pleased to see Max running happily up to his father and giving him a big hug. He listened to Minnie's report that he had been good and waved at the ladies as they left with their boyfriends and Pluto._

" _Maxie," Goofy said. "How would you feel about going on a picnic with me?"_

" _Okay," the boy called happily._

 _The father and son spent the day together laughing and having a good time. Goofy pushed his son on the swing and spun around on a merry-go-round. The two slid down a slide that was really much too big for Goofy to be on. They had a nice lunch and went home. Goofy smiled glad to see his son return full of life and glad that he himself was. He did a good job of making the boy forget his grief for a little while._

 _Later that night Max skipped to his bedroom window and sat next to it. "What'cha looking out for there, Maxie?" Goofy asked his son._

" _I'm waiting for Mommy so I can see her when she's coming home," Max said._

 _Goofy's heart sank. Maybe he did too good a job at helping his son forget his grief._

 _The doctors told him that because of the concussion the boy would have amnesia for a while afterwards and would forget the traumatic events including his mother's death. "He may even ask about his mother again, so you will have to tell him."_

 _Goofy sat next to his son's side unprepared for what to tell him. "Max, your Mommy ain't coming home again."_

 _Max looked stricken. "Why, doesn't she love me?"_

" _Aww, Maxie, she loved you more than her shoes," Goofy said to his son. "But she can't come home. She has to go live up there among the stars now."_

" _How'd she get there?" Max asked._

" _Well that's what happens when people die," Goofy said._

" _But I want her here," Max said crying. Goofy held his son tightly to his chest feeling like he had lost his wife for the second time in almost two weeks._

" _I know, son, so do I," Goofy said. "But she can't be here with us."_

" _So if she can't be here, can I go with her?" Max asked. "If I make myself die, I can go live in the stars and be with Mommy."_

" _No," Goofy said that with such force that Max drew back in fear. Goofy shook his son hard and looked at him in the eyes. "Max, no! Promise me you'll never say that or think it ever again!"_

 _Max gulped and sobbed. "But I want to be with Mommy."_

" _I know you do, son," Goofy said. "But I need you here with me. I'm awful lonesome without your Mommy and I'd be even more awful lonesome without you!"_

 _Max looked downward. "I guess I can stay down here to be with you Daddy, so you won't be lonesome," Goofy hugged his son tightly as they cried together._

Max listened to his father's account of the time after his mother's death. "That's how I remembered it before. You telling me that you needed me here so I couldn't go live in the stars with Mom. But for a while there, I did remember the funeral but I always thought that it was after that."

Goofy nodded. "The doctors said that because of the concussion you may not remember the sequins ordering things and you wouldn't be sure what order things had happened."

It took a moment of confusion before Max realized his father was saying "the sequential order of things." He decided not to correct him.

Goofy wiped a tear from his eye. "I guess I haven't always been very good at keeping that promise about staying with you so you wouldn't be lonesome." Max said remembering their many arguments, Max's embarrassment at being compared to his Dad, and his outbursts at him including the one where he told his father to get his own life.

"You did, Max, you always did," Goofy said hugging his son tightly.

"I don't understand," Max said hoarsely. "Why did it happen to her and from a car accident? You've survived worse things! We've fallen down a waterfall; you've hit many things with your car! Hell, I think you fell from the Grand Canyon once and that's not the worst of it! How many of the House of Mouse guests talk about the many things that they survived from! Why them and not her? Why did we walk away and she didn't?!"

Goofy shook his head. "I don't know, Max, I really don't know! But it does happen and you know that!" Max nodded remembering that sometimes the guests talked about their parents or other relatives that had died. Sometimes Max shared in the conversation, so he knew that death was not unheard of for people like them and despite what many thought, was not reduced to only one or two ways to cause it. Mother's Day in particular could be a depressing time at the club and Max recalled many a time when a guest would cry into his or her cups recalling their late mother or father. Of course he knew that his dad and Uncle Mickey and Donald were orphans as well and that Minnie and Daisy had lost their parents as well though they were much older than the guys when it happened.

"She would have walked away if she hadn't been in the car," Max declared. "She would have walked away if I hadn't been with her and-!""

Goofy shook his son by the shoulders. "Max, don't be silly! You being in the car had nothing to do with it!"

"All for a stupid pair of shoes and a dumb bear and she was on the road," Max said angrily.

Goofy didn't know what Max meant by a "dumb bear" but he continued to reassure his son figuring that Max was blaming himself because his mother had to go out shopping for him. "Don't talk that way Maxie, it just happened. It could have been for any number of reasons that she was out on a day like that. You had nothing to do with her being out there."

" _I had everything to do with her car hitting the other car!"_ Max shouted.

Goofy looked at his son in silence as Max continued to speak, his voice choked by his tears. "I'm starting to remember being in the car with her. I remember calling out to her, 'Mommy look at me,' trying to get her attention because God forbid she look at anything else but me! I don't know maybe she spent so much time at work that I missed her or maybe I was just a spoiled selfish brat, I don't know! So I waved my arms and Old Stuffed Bear fell onto the floor! I tried to pick him up but I couldn't reach him-damn Child Seat-and I asked Mommy to get Old Stuffed Bear for me. She looked back at me and yelled, 'Maximilian, I am trying to watch the road!' She looked at me instead of the road and then there were the bright lights!" Max gave a bitter laugh through his tears. "Well, I got her attention alright."

Goofy rocked his son back and forth while the boy droned, "It's my fault. It's all my fault." Goofy kissed the top of his son's head. "Maxie, that's not true. It's okay."

"I should turn myself in," Max said. "Manslaughter isn't that what they call it?

When you cause someone to die but you don't intend to kill them?"

"Max," Goofy said trying to comfort his son. "It's not your fault. Don't do this to yourself!"

"Why the fuck not?" Max practically shouted. "I probably didn't intend to kill her, but then again maybe I did! Maybe I was a rotten little sociopath who deserved to lose his mother-"

That was as far as he got when Goofy slapped his son hard. "Max, stop it! You were just a little boy. Nobody would blame you! I don't blame you!"

"You can't possibly forgive me for this," Max said to his father.

"No," Goofy said. "Because there ain't anything to forgive. What happened to your mother was just an accident, a bad luck accident. It is no one's fault least of all yours! You need to forgive yourself!"

"I don't know if I can," Max said sadly. "All this time I always hated that I never really knew her or anything about her. I could barely see her face and sort of hear her voice, but it's like she was far away or in a fog. Now I know I'm the reason for that fog. Now, my only real memory was how much of a brat I was to her and how she yelled at me and then nothing. I'm the reason that I don't know her and that I never will."

Max lowered his head as Goofy held his son by the shoulder and hugged him again.

Goofy silently entered his bedroom. He waited until Max had cried himself to sleep. Listening to the boy's tirade reopened the wounds of Penny's death and now it was Max not he who was dealing with the grief. Goofy sighed. 27 years and the grief of losing Penny was sometimes still naked and raw as it was the day that he received the phone call.

How could he help his son? He truly didn't hold Penny's death against his son; not at all nor more than he held it against Penny, or the other driver, or the rain or anything. The circumstances weren't relevant. Penny died. End of story.

Goofy knew that besides blame, Max regretted that he never knew his mother, barely had a relationship with her. Maybe the young man had told himself many times that it didn't matter, that he couldn't miss her. Maybe even fooled himself into thinking that he was alright without her. Now, remembering her death also brought back the abandonment that Max felt and the unanswered questions about his mother.

Goofy thought for a minute then snapped his fingers as something came to him. He opened his closet and tensed as he waited for his clothes and other items to fall out. When they stayed put, he shrugged and managed to feel his way through the mess inside. Smiling thinly, he pulled out what he had been looking for: a white box with green ribbons and the name 'Penny' lovingly written in glitter though the "n" and "y" had long faded with time. He paid no attention as he took the box out of the closet and the other things fell on the floor behind him.

Goofy hesitated feeling a stab in his heart as he opened the box. He felt a sense of sadness and longing as he fingered the items inside the box, but he knew that he wanted Max to see it. Goofy knew that it was time that Max should meet his mother.

Max didn't say much the next morning. He just ate soup silently even as his daughter chatted amiably. As he ate his soup, he looked downward his hand on his forehead as he stirred the letters thoughtfully. He dipped the spoon into the bowl and out. "Daddy, can we go to the park later?" She asked.

Max sighed. "I don't know Trixie," he said softly. How could his little girl still love him? How could anyone? "I don't think so."

"But you said-," Trixie pouted crossing her arms. Max recognized that look and that voice and knew a first class argument was about to begin from the little girl.

"Never mind what I said," Max half-shouted. "I said, I don't know!"

Trixie looked distraught as her eyes filled. Max instantly felt remorse at snapping at her. It wasn't her fault. "I'm sorry, Trix," Max said. "Come here." He held out his arms and Trixie fell into her father's embrace.

Max lifted Trixie onto his lap. "Come on. That's a big girl. You're getting to be a handful." He said as he kissed her on the cheek. "Enjoying your 'Hi Dad' soup?"

Trixie looked confused. "What's that?"

Max smiled. "When I was little, I used to spell out words in alphabet soup like 'Hi Dad,' so Grandpa and I used to call it 'Hi Dad Soup.' "

"Like what?" Trixie asked.

"Well, 'Hi Dad' that's a given," Max said. "I also spelled 'Maxie,' 'ahyuck,' 'Bye bye,'

and 'I love you.' "He said the last words with a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"Can you show me?" Trixie asked.

Max arranged some of the letters in his daughter's bowl. Trixie spelled them out loud carefully. ' H-I-T-R-I-X-I-E', Hi Trixie!"

"That's right," Max said.

"My turn," Trixie said. She then spelled out some words on her own in her bowl. Max read: "I luv Dady".

Max smiled and said. "I love you too, Trixie."

"To the moon and back?" Trixie asked.

"To the moon and back," Max agreed.

Goofy ambled downstairs grinning at his son and granddaughter. "Hi you two." He said.

"Hi Dad," Max said.

Trixie smiled and tried to fit the soup letters on her spoon but some of them didn't work. "Daddy they won't fit," she said.

Max smiled and arranged some words on his spoon. "Grandpa, we got something to show you," Trixie called.

"What you gotta show me?" Goofy asked. He looked down at the words on both his son and granddaughter's spoons. On Trixie's spoon Goofy read: Hi Gra-"and Max's spoon finished: "-ndpa."

"Hi Maxie, Hi Trixie," Goofy said with a fond grin.

"Max, could you come upstairs for a minute," Goofy said. "I got something to show you."

"Sure," Max said.

Goofy glanced down at his granddaughter knowing that they may be up there awhile. "Trixie, you want to watch a movie?"

"Okay," Trixie asked. "Can I watch Zootopia and Big Hero 6?"

Goofy nodded. "Sure," he said remembering what Hiro, Nick, and Judy said

about the film versions of their stories. That they were mostly accurate, but some slight liberties were taken.

Curiously, Max followed his father to his old bedroom. On his bed lay a white box with green ribbons. Written on the top were the letters "P-E-N" and some faded letters in green glitter.

Max sat down next to the box touching it like it was a holy relic almost afraid to open it. "Is this about Mom?" He asked.

Goofy nodded. "After she passed on, I put some things of hers in here, some reminders, photos, a scrapbook, and some other things that reminded me of her."

"How come I never saw this before?" Max asked. He wasn't angry that his father never showed it before, just confused. "We moved a lot, I never saw you take it out."

"I moved it with a lot of my things," Goofy said. "I wanted to show it sooner, but every time I took it out well-I just felt-" Max understood. He felt grief every time he looked at it, so he never did. Maybe Goofy wanted to keep a part of his wife for himself.

"What's in here?" Max asked.

"Well you'll never know if you don't open it," Goofy encouraged.

Max opened up the box to see various items lay haphazardly inside the box. He first pulled out a green bow and ribbons. "Your Mama used to love green," Goofy said. "It was her favorite color. She wore it all the time, even when she wore other colors she always had a green ribbon in her hair or a pin."

"She must have loved St. Patrick's Day," Max said. Next Max pulled out a small paperback book of Modern Poetry. He opened the front cover and saw the index card holder revealing that it was a long past overdue library book. He read the table of contents recognizing some of the poets like W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Stevie Smith, H.D., ee cummings, Ezra Pound, and Dorothy Parker.

"She loved to read," Max said. "I would always find her with her nose in a book usually liked them old classics and poetry. She also liked to read the newspapers and find out everything she could about anything and kind of like to show off her knowledge a bit."

"That must have been annoying," Max said.

"Nah it became a game with us," Goofy said. "Whenever we were watching the news or something and like there'd be something say the politics of Thembria for example, she'd say 'Well things have been unstable since the war of 19 whenever and their leader, Col. Spigot, is a big tyrant and a dodo bird and has been since…' on and on. She'd have gotten a kick out of the Internet knowing that she could find out all of that information with just a click of one of Mickeys relatives."

Max smiled slightly as he took out a photo that showed Goofy dressed in a fancy blue

suit holding the hand of a woman in a long light green dress with a blue barrette tying her hair back. Her back was turned to the camera but Max could tell she was his mother.

"She was so beautiful and smart and had the most wonderful personality," Goofy said. "She probably could have had her pick of a hundred guys."

"And she chose you," Max quipped. "What was wrong with that woman?" Goofy glared at his son, but couldn't stop the smile coming to his face. He was glad to see his son's snarkiness returning, because that was a sign that he was going to be okay.

"I admit I asked myself that every single day," he said. "She always said that I made her laugh. She had the greatest laugh and I just loved to hear it. I would do things just because I knew she would laugh at them." He held up another photograph of Penny this time more casually dressed in a long green dress, her red hair down to her shoulders. Her mouth was open wide to show that she had been laughing at something.

Max then took out a ticket stub for a disco. "She used to love to dance almost as much as I did. We would dance the night away to ABBA, KC and the Sunshine Band, Earth, Wind, and Fire all the greats." Max didn't say anything, but the terms "great" and "disco music" were contradictions in terms in his mind. "She also loved romantic soft rock songs. I remember many a time where she would hold you and would sing something from Carole King, Carpenters, or Carly Simon or someone like that."

He showed his son a program for a Screwball Comedy Film Festival. Max looked at some of the titles, some of which he knew: It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, My Man Godfrey, Some Like It Hot, and others. "Your mother loved a good romance or comedy movie. The funnier the movie, the happier the ending the better she like it. Perhaps that's why she loved this big adorable goof you see here." He pointed at himself. "I'm just one big walking screwball!"

"No argument here," Max said dryly.

He then saw a blue ribbon from a Toon Town Elementary Field Day. "Your Mama told me when she was little that she was something of an athlete and used to love to run and play soccer," Goofy said fondly. "I didn't see that myself, because I guess her parents didn't really want her to get involved in sports or something. They thought it was unlady like or something. But she did like to jog and in the mornings or whenever she was upset about something she would go for a long walk or a run to clear her head."

Max looked down confused at the next picture. It featured a young girl, obviously Penny, but she was with two other girls that Max certainly recognized. "That's Aunt Minnie and Aunt Daisy."

Goofy nodded. "She was friends with them when they were little girls kind of like how I was friends with your Uncle Mickey and Uncle Donald."

Max was confused. "How? I mean they never said anything. They never talked about her that much. I always was under the impression that they didn't know her that well, that she was kind of a 'newbie' to your group." Max didn't elaborate but figured that his aunts and uncles behaved how many members of a tight circle of friends did: They liked her, but they didn't know her that well and just thought of her as "Goofy's wife" rather than a friend in her own right.

Goofy scratched his head. This always confused him as well, but he tried to explain it as best as he could. "I don't rightly know myself. But from what I understand, your Mama's parents didn't care much for Minnie and Daisy so they made her stop being friends with them."

"Why did her parents do that?" Max asked.

When Goofy spoke next, his voice was bitter. "I'm not really surprised that they did. Her folks were really rich and didn't approve of anyone who was not part of the hoi polli," He pronounced the term 'hi 'Polly.' "They didn't care for me very much neither. Didn't think I was good enough for her. They wanted me to stay away from her."

"What assholes," Max grumbled.

"Right, but your Mama was nothing like them," Goofy said. "She stuck to her principles no matter what. She really had a strong sense of fairness and what was right and wrong. She once said that she always felt guilty that when she was growing up, she had so much and others had so little, so she wanted to write and stand up for them."

"So she was a writer then," Max asked.

Goofy took out a small scrapbook and opened it. Max saw that a lock of his mother's red hair hung from one of the pages. He gently brushed against it. It felt smooth to the touch. Goofy pointed at the articles inside the scrapbook. Max looked at the titles and authorship, all written by Penny Goof. The articles had titles that spoke of things like union strikes, racism, and sexism, social programs to aid victims of homelessness and poverty, and other causes. Max read the first paragraph of one of them that spoke of a family that would soon be on the streets: " _Ada wondered if her family's three story white house was haunted. 'I used to search the attics and closets for ghosts,' the six-year-old said. 'Now I wonder if the ghosts will be lonely without us' Now, it is Ada's family who will be haunting another location, because they are one of the many families soon to become homeless…."_

"She was a news reporter, one of the best," Goofy said. "I used to cut out all her articles and put them in this little book. She had such a gift for writing and letting people live through her words. I remember she'd always been writing in her journal."

He snapped his fingers and reached down at the bottom of the box. "In fact, you might be interested in reading this." He pulled out a small burgundy leather bound book with gold lined pages. Max opened the cover which the inscription read: "My Journal By Penelope Pooch." Max also noticed that the "-nelope" later had been crossed out and an "ny" had been added to the top and that a hyphen and the name "Goof" had obviously been added later than the other words to her name.

"If you really want to know about your mother, maybe you ought to hear it from her," Goofy suggested.

Max opened the first page and read the opening line: " _I just had to sneak out again."_

Goofy nodded getting the feeling that his son needed some alone time with his mother, so he stood up. "I'll look in on Trixie," he offered.

Max nodded as he looked up from the book and leaned back on his bed. "Dad," Goofy turned to hear his son's voice. "Thanks." He said.

Goofy nodded. "You're welcome, Maxie." He then walked downstairs as Max opened the journal and began to read.

Author's Note

Det. Lucky Piquel from Bonkers has a cameo/guest appearance as the police officer who informs Goofy of Penny's death. Goofy's observation that he looks and sounds like Pete is a reference to the fact that they are both played by Jim Cummings.

Just to be clear, Penny died before Donald adopted the nephews, so Donald saying that he didn't have anyone to depend on him the way Goofy has Max was true at the time. I thought it was a nice bit of foreshadowing for Donald to say all of that, plus I can imagine Donald doing the more forceful "Bad Cop" routine trying to pull his friend out of his despair.

This is the second time that I have written a story in which a Jason Marsden character is filled with guilt and despair and confessing to a funny light-hearted absent minded character about his involvement in a death or near death to someone close to him. (In my Boy Meets World fic, "What it Takes" Eric Matthews' friend Jason Marsden confesses that he considered smothering his two young children with a pillow and committing suicide instead of leaving a homeless shelter and returning them to a life on the streets). Maybe the voice is really good to picture for dramatic dialogue. Maybe Marsden just has that guilty look about him.

Thembria and it's "tyrant complete dodo bird" of a leader, Col. Spigot are from Tale Spin. Considering that Tale Spin is set in the 1930s that's pretty amazing that Spigot has been the leader for so long! He's the Fidel Castro of animated dictators! :D


	3. Penny's Journal: That's As Close As I'll

Memories of the Dance We Shared

A Goofy Movie Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Chapter Three: Penny's Journal: That's As Close As I Get To Lovin' You

" _I just had to sneak out again. I couldn't stand another of Mummy and Daddy's parties to introduce me to potential suitors. I felt like I couldn't breathe, so I opened my bedroom window, inched down the drain pipe and the creeping vine. Now, I am here in this café writing in my personal thoughts instead of attending a dinner party in which I am to entertain Bradley Uppercrust II-"_

-Max read that name with a start. Bradley Uppercrust II, no doubt the father of Bradley Uppercrust III, Max's college rival! He had no idea that his mother knew the family. He shuddered at the thought that if the dinner party went the wrong way, Bradley and Max could have been brothers! Max continued to read-

"- _Bradley seems more interested in his reflection than in anyone else. The last time we spoke, he talked so incessantly about his father's business, millions which he will inherit and their family dynasty, I whistled "You're So Vain" to him, which he didn't get._

 _Of course Bradley probably missed the irony and would think the song really was about him. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the man my parents want me to marry. Bradley isn't even the worst of them, the worst of the people that I am often surrounded by and suffocate me._

 _I know it would seem strange to grow up in a house with 14 rooms and to feel suffocated. I have a life that many would envy: a large home, plenty of clothes, always the latest toys and electronics. But the truth is, I want to escape it all. My parents are always trying to turn me into a perfect rich society lady with the perfect rich society husband and have our perfect rich society children. They think that I am going to university to get not an English degree, but an MRS degree. This morning Mummy even said, "Darling you are so featherbrained that you couldn't possibly find any sort of employment beyond being someone's wife."_

 _In this café, I am reading a chapter of Jane Eyre, but really it just isn't doing anything for me this time. Perhaps, I wonder why a governess like Jane would want to love a wealthy man like Rochester. Some days I identify more with Bertha Rochester, the mad wife in the attic, imprisoned by her family and always looking outside. I don't think that I can read anymore so I will write instead._

 _I don't have any friends that I can talk with. The few people that I do know are the children of my friend's parents and aren't really mine like the Catterly Sisters, Margeaux and Adelaide two catty (pun not intended) sisters who look down on others and spend a_

 _great deal of time mocking anyone who isn't in our stratosphere (which is everyone else according to them). These girls are nothing like the two best friends I ever had. The ones-But I can't think about them anymore. Mummy and Daddy forced them out of my life. Don't miss them, Penny, just don't._

 _Most of the people that my parents hang out with are members of the Status Seekers, club for the wealthy elite which is concerned about being wealthy and gaining further status. The only member of their circle that I really like is Scrooge McDuck, not a Status Seeker but wealthy enough to be invited anyway. That's because his stories about his adventures like panning for gold in the Yukon, or searching for buried treasure including the Lost Treasure of Cali Baba, fascinate me. My parents often invite him, but whenever Mr. McDuck speaks at these gatherings, Mummy and Daddy raise their eyebrows, and snicker behind their closed mouths, the "fake polite" face when they are amused or annoyed by someone and don't want to show it. Sometimes Daddy and Bradley even imitate Mr. McDuck's accent when he isn't in ear shot. Perhaps they look down on Mr. McDuck because he is a self-made millionaire and they inherited their wealth. I have a feeling if it weren't for his tremendous wealth, my parents wouldn't glance at him either way._

 _It's rather lonely to not be able to talk to anyone but this book which I just bought and my teddy bear, Bloomsbeary. I know it's kind of immature to be 19 years old and still have a teddy bear and I certainly know that the Catterly Sisters would never let me hear the end of it, if they find out. But, he's been my friend since my family trip to London when I was six and I saw him at a small toy store in Bloomsbury. He's always been there for me and is the only relief from my loneliness. Sometimes I am surrounded by so many people and I feel so alone that I want to scream but I don't think anyone would hear me. Or if they did, Mummy would tell me to keep the noise down. I wonder if I disappeared forever would anyone care to look for me?-"_

-Max hung his head in empathy for his mother and shame. He remembered the many times when growing up in trailers and moving around a lot with his dad, he would envy other kids who had the cool toys and wondered what it would be like to live in those big houses. He always thought how terrific it would be to be rich and not to have to worry about where their next pay check would come from or watching his father collect toys from charity toy drives or buy second hand clothes that he realtered and resized so they would appear new. He wondered what it would be like to go on vacations instead of his father taking out the backdrop to make it look like they were going camping.

Growing up his mother had everything that Max ever wanted, but she was miserable. She never had anyone to talk to except a stuffed bear and her journal. She didn't even have parents that loved her and accepted her for who she was. Max breathed a silent thanks for his father and how he always supported him and never made him feel like he was anything less than the best.-

" _-I look around at the people eating and sometimes I enjoy making up little stories about them. I see an older couple, a white female dog in a pink dress and hat and a black male dog in a blue suit. They sit on the booth across from me, talking quietly his hand on hers. I think that they come to this café every week because it's where they first met and they like to recreate their first date._

 _There is a businessman, a fox in a trench coat eating quietly and reading. He has a sad expression on his face. I wonder if he is dreaming about a lost love, maybe the One That Got Away or perhaps she died. Either way, he still misses her and now he only lives for his work to fill the empty void in his life._

 _There is a small group of friends talking and laughing in the corner. They look about my age. A couple of them look familiar, almost too familiar. I am curious so I see an empty booth right next to them and want to sit there._

 _I am right! The two were who I thought they were! The mouse woman in the blue dress and blue bow in her hair could only be Minnie Mouse and the duck woman in a pink dress and pink bow has to be Daisy Duck! I smile at seeing my old friends and long to go up and reintroduce myself. Then I remember when I waited outside my birthday party for my friends to arrive._

 _It was my seventh birthday party. Daisy and Minnie skipped up the sidewalk with presents for me. However, Duckjoy, our butler stood in front glaring at the two girls telling them that "they were not to attend Miss Penelope's birthday party." My friends just looked stricken. I longed to go outside and apologize and say that they can come in and of course they are invited. Mummy then stepped outside and explained further, "My daughter does not wish to be associated with such riff raff as yourself!"_

" _We are not riff raff," Daisy insisted angrily._

" _We are her friends, Mrs. Pooch," Minnie said politely. "And she invited us."_

 _My mother glared at the two girls like they were insects. I knew when she had that look she always got her way. "She invited you without the approval of myself and her father. Please leave, she no longer wishes for you to be her friend."_

 _Minnie looked sad like she was going to cry, but Daisy looked angry. She put her arm around Minnie's shoulder and shouted loud enough for me to hear. "Well we no longer wish to be her friend either! Penny's the Riff Rafff!"_

 _My mother glared at them. "Do I have to call a police officer to have you escorted from the premises?"_

 _Daisy continued to glare hotly, but Minnie held her hand. "Come on, Daisy. Let's go." Minnie and Daisy walked off the porch and I never saw them again._

 _Slowly, after Minnie and Daisy left my parents began the transformation from Penny Pooch to the Frankenstein's Monster that is Penelope Glorybee Libertee Pooch_

 _(Probably soon to be Penelope Uppercrust if my parents and Bradley have their way). My parents moved me from the public elementary school to the Lady Tremaine Private School For Fine Young Ladies. I was no longer permitted to go out for sports because it was unladylike. If I had any acquaintances, they had to be preapproved by my mother and father. My mother even paid to have my nose fixed so it would be smaller, my teeth straightened and the buck teeth removed, so I would be more attractive. ("Really you were such an awkward gangly thing, no man would have wanted you.")_

 _The only bit of rebellion that I have is sometimes I sneak books that my parents don't approve of behind their backs. My father once caught me with an anthology of feminist poetry and short stories and he gave me a whipping because he thought the book_

 _was "too subversive over what the proper role is for a woman." I didn't stop reading them, I just got better at hiding them. I think that's why I love to read and write. I love how those great poets and novelists captured such emotions with their words. I also love reading essays and books about issues like "Letter From A Birmingham Jail," "Silent Spring,""Hiroshima," "The Diary of Anne Frank," and others, writings that made great change in the world. Sometimes these books are the only escape and rebellion that I know._

 _I sit on the booth behind Minnie and Daisy's friends. So far they don't see me. Part of me wants to speak to them, greet them by name and apologize. Another part withdraws into myself shyly, out of fear. I wouldn't blame them if they never spoke to me again, so I hide and long to make myself invisible so they don't see me. I am so ashamed over how my parents treated them. I missed them so much, the only real friends I ever had, but I am too afraid that they would reject me. I should have stood up for them, but I didn't. Any rejection that they give me would be more than deserved._

 _A strange laugh breaks from my thoughts. It sounds like a gulp and someone saying something like "ahyuck." It's sincere and charming and it almost makes me laugh just to hear it. I look over my seat and try to make myself hidden. The laugh is coming from Minnie and Daisy's table. They aren't alone. They are with three men and one dog. One a male mouse with a high voice and dressed in red and black is doing most of the talking. He gives a sausage to the orange dog that wags his tail happily. The male mouse starts talking about a baseball game that he and the others participated in._

" _Bugs and his friends never knew what hit 'em," he boasts proudly. "Even if he did try to play every position."_

" _Well at the very least, that was unfair," Minnie says._

 _The male duck who is dressed in a blue sailor suit said something which I really couldn't understand but it sounded like it ended with "the show off." Judging by the mouse's nod of approval and the others laughter, it sounded like they are talking about this Bugs._

" _The best part though was the seventh inning stretch performance between Mt. Ducksuvius here," Daisy says pointing at the duck. "-and Daffy. Donald, you really could control your temper."_

 _Donald, I guess that's his name, starts quacking angrily. I think he is saying, "He started it."_

" _I thought we was gonna have to pull you two off each other, "said the other man, a tall gangly black dog dressed in blue pants, green shirt, black vest and a long marrow-bone fedora. I can tell from his voice that he's the one who had the charming laugh from earlier. "Especially when he thought you called him a-"_

" _-I said-"Donald says a word which at first I thought was inappropriate but then I realized that he said "doggone little." He was clearly offended that someone would even assume that he would say the other word. He then softened. "But thanks for sticking up for me."_

 _The tall man chucked him on the shoulder. "Hey no one says anything like that about my pal and gets away with it."_

" _And how about Minnie scoring that home run?" Daisy says pointing at her friend. "Good job."_

" _That's why she plays with us," The mouse says._

" _Oh Mickey," Minnie says sweetly as Mickey kissed her._

" _I can still see Bugs and Daffy's faces when Minnie made it," the tall man said._

 _Mickey and Donald's mouths drop open and they look upward, their eyes widened in surprise. I guess they are imitating Bugs and Daffy. Donald even mouths a couple of phrases like "son of a bitch," and "they're despicable" probably what Bugs or Daffy mouthed when Minnie scored the home run._

 _The others laugh particularly the tall man. He gives a long deep "ahyuck" laugh the same one I heard. I couldn't resist. The laugh is so cute, charming, and contagious-"_

 _-_ -Max shook his head not believing that his mother would have said that his father's laugh was cute or charming. "She must have been really in love," Max thought with a sigh as he continued.

" _-that I laugh right along with them before I can stop myself. I just want to say that I hate my laugh. Oh it starts out alright, up and down like a music scale. But then if it becomes uncontrollable like now, it always ends with a hiccup and a snort. I get embarrassed whenever I do it so I try not to laugh very much. I cover my mouth hoping no one heard that-"_

 _-_ And there it is," Max quipped remembering that his father said that his mother had the greatest laugh. Of course two people with the weirdest laughs in the world would gravitate towards each other. "It's kind of a cute in a weird, sick sort of way.-"

" _It's too late now. Minnie and Daisy look upwards, both in surprise. My only hope is that they don't recognize me. "I know that laugh," Minnie says. She cranes her head to get a better look at my booth. "Penny? Penny Pooch! Daisy I think it's Penny!"_

 _Daisy also cranes her head over the booth. "It's been almost 12 years but I think you're right!"_

" _Come on," Minnie jumps up to take her hand. "Let's go say hi!"_

 _Daisy pulls her hand away. "You say 'hi!' Remember how she treated us?" I can tell she's still angry. I feel sad over the loss of a deep friendship that might have been between the three of us._

" _Come on, maybe she's changed," Minnie says. "We'll never know if we don't try."_

 _I feel shy and awkward around them, hoping for some untimely way of escape. I don't know what to say to them. Oh it's too late now. Here they come!..."_

"… _It's been a few days since I wrote in this journal for a very good reason. I didn't have it for a long time but so much has happened since then. Let's see, I last left off when Minnie and Daisy walked over to me at the café. Minnie screamed my name and gave me a big hug. "It's good to see you again! You look different," She said._

" _Is that good or bad?" I asked shyly._

" _You look great," Minnie said._

" _So do you," I said. "And so do you, Daisy."_

" _Thanks," Daisy said._

" _You should come sit with us," Minnie invited. I hesitated, but Minnie led me towards the others. She indicated the mouse next to her, "Guys, this is Penny Pooch an old friend from elementary school-"_

" _-Sort of," Daisy muttered._

 _Minnie walked me over to her friends. "This is my boyfriend, Mickey Mouse."_

" _Hello there," Mickey said shaking my hand. "Any friend of Minnie's is a friend of ours. This is my buddy, Pluto." He indicated the dog lying on the ground that leaped up at me all over my white blouse and green knee length skirt.. I stepped back nervously, but Pluto was so friendly that I couldn't resist scratching his head._

" _Pluto that's not nice," Mickey admonished._

" _Oh that's okay," I said. "He's seems friendly." I noticed that Pluto got some dirt marks on my blouse but I ignored it. Pluto then licked my face. I gave a small laugh, but stopped before the awful snort began.._

" _This is Daisy's boyfriend, Donald Duck," Minnie said._

 _Donald also shook my hand and said something that sounds like "It's nice to meet you, miss." But Daisy glared at him, so he stepped back._

" _And this is Goofy," Minnie said pointing at the large man._

 _Goofy stepped on his friends' feet as he walked towards me. He held my hand in brief silence, but leaned down. "Goofy, Third Wheel at your service! An-chanty, mad-moi-sill," he said as he tried but missed getting the air next to my hand. "Uhh, I mean-"_

" _I know what you meant," I said smiling. Goofy then held a chair inviting me to sit. I sat, but Goofy pushed it too far and I landed on the ground. "Oh I'm sorry Miss," Goofy said. He helped me stand._

 _I laughed. Goofy is so polite and adorable, even when he is being awkward. "It's okay," I said, even letting out an embarrassing snort. It's refreshing how natural Minnie's friends are. "I've seen it happens in movies, hundreds of times. It's interesting to see it happen in real life." I said._

 _Instead Goofy led me to the booth where he seated me between himself and Minnie. It was a tight fit with all six of us and Pluto on the outside, but we managed. Goofy's knee and mine touch each other. "So, how long-"I said at the same time that Goofy says, "So what are you doing-" We looked at each other and I felt a blush creep up._

" _So what have you been doing with yourself, Penny?" Minnie asked._

" _Oh, um I am a sophomore at Elias University," I said._

" _What's your major?" Mickey asked politely._

" _English," I answered. "I love to read and write." It was hard for me to talk to these people as kind as they were. I felt out of place with them. I cleared my throat. "What about all of you? Are you in school or anything?"_

" _Well we are, sort of," Minnie began,_

" _What are all of you studying," I asked curiously._

 _Minnie pointed at herself. "Well I am studying Business Administration with a dual major in Cosmetology and Fashion Buymanship. Someday I'd like to run my own boutique."_

 _I remembered. "I know you always liked your clothes and wearing your hair bows."_

" _She still does," Mickey said. "As for me, I'm studying Filmmaking and Entertainment Management. I would like to some day run a club or a theatre like Kermit the Frog does with his friends so we can perform and make people happy. My friends and I, we make these cartoons and movies and we'd like to show people."_

" _I wanted to go into the Navy," Donald said. "Still do eventually, but right now I'm learning Seamanship and Navigation. I'd love to be a sailor and go on adventures like my Uncle Scrooge does."_

" _Scrooge McDuck," I asked. Donald nodded. "I met him a few times. He does have some interesting stories."_

" _Someday, I'm going to live them," Donald vowed._

" _I'm studying Broadcasting so I can be a TV reporter," Daisy said. She pretended to hold up a microphone and said. "This is Daisy Duck with all the latest news!"_

 _The friends laughed and I turned to Goofy. "So what are you studying?" I asked._

" _I'm studying to be a general!" Goofy said proudly._

 _Donald rolled his eyes. After a while I am starting to understand his speech somewhat. I suppose you just have to listen to him. "For the last time, Goofy, you aren't studying to be a general! You are taking general basic classes!"_

 _Goofy slapped his knee. "Shucks, that's what I said."_

 _Donald shook his head angrily and muttered "oh boy," "oh boy," while the others rolled their eyes and smiled like they expected an argument between the two._

" _Anything in particular you're interested in?" I asked him._

" _I don't rightly know yet," Goofy said. "I guess I'll know it when I find out what I'm studying for. Guess it'll come to me."_

" _Well you'll have a lot longer to decide anyway, fella," Mickey said. I looked confused, so Mickey explained. "We're working our way through school, so we're taking only a few classes at a time."_

" _That's impressive," I said admiring them and I do. These guys know what they want to do with their lives and made their own decisions. They are even willing to work for them. Even Goofy in his uncertainty that the right career will come along for him. My life has been programmed for me and I have no idea what I want to do yet or even if I want the life that has been planned for me._

 _I think Daisy interpreted my words and silence as sarcasm so she got on the defensive. "Yes, we all don't have rich relatives to pay our way through school."_

 _Donald looked stunned. "Hey Uncle Scrooge won't pay for my schooling. He says I have to earn my way like he did!"_

" _I wasn't talking about you," Daisy said._

" _Daisy," Minnie said shocked nodding in my direction._

" _No," I said. "She has every right. Minnie, Daisy, I owe you both an apology. My parents had no right to make you stop being my friends. I'm sorry that they did that and I'm sorry that I didn't argue with them. I missed you both and I would really like it if we could be friends again."_

 _Minnie held my hand. "Well I'm willing," she said._

 _Daisy crossed her arms but then lowered them. "Well I guess I could try," she said._

 _An unwelcome voice interrupted our conversation. "Miss Penelope, your parents have been looking everywhere for you," I look up to see Duckjoy glaring at my new friends. "You must come along with me."_

" _I'm talking to my friends, Duckjoy," I said._

" _Well your time is up," our butler said. "You'd better come along, Miss Penelope."_

 _Minnie stood up. "We were just catching up with Penny and we'll return her-"_

" _-That is Miss Penelope to you, Miss Minerva," Minnie blushed. Clearly Duckjoy remembered her. He sneered at the others. "As well as to all of you." I cower in embarrassment. "Miss Penelope, I do not wish to get your father involved."_

 _I lowered my head and then attempted to rise. Goofy stood up with me and knocked me down. I bumped into Minnie, who bumped into Mickey, who bumped into Pluto, who bumped into Donald, who bumped into Daisy and down we fell like dominoes._

" _Well that was intensely stupid," Donald said sarcastically._

" _Oops," Goofy shrugged as we all stood at once, Goofy helping me to rise. I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine. There is something sweet and honest in them and I'm not sure what else. Is it loneliness? Sadness underneath the humor?_

" _Miss Penelope," Duckjoy interrupted. They stepped aside so I can follow him. I felt like a prison escapee caught by the warden to return to a longer prison sentence. He looked me up and down particularly at my dirty blouse. I also noticed my panty hose has a run in the knee. "I shall have to report this to your mother."_

 _I returned home to a very frosty welcome with my parents and Bradley. "Really, Penelope," said my mother. "Must you look and dress like a wild thing? Your blouse is dirty and your hose has run. Where on earth have you been?"_

 _I was about to explain when my father interrupted. "It does not matter, you have made a fool of us by being late for your own dinner party."_

" _We are truly sorry for our daughter's foolishness," my mother said to Bradley._

 _Bradley snickered. "Oh that's alrigh, Millicent, I should be used to this behavior by now from your daughter."_

 _My mother pointed upwards. "Penelope, go upstairs and return dressed." I tensed. The way my father looked told me that he might whip me, regardless whether we had company or how old I was. I lowered my head and walked upstairs. On my way up, I overheard my father say to Bradley, "My apologies, Bradley. As you can see Penelope can be rather willful and spirited."_

 _Bradley then spoke in a tone that made me quake with fear. "I have ways of dealing with that, Reginald."_

 _It wasn't until I returned to my bedroom before I realized that my journal was missing…."_

"… _..The next day I walked downstairs to smell fresh paint. I recalled that my father wanted to have our ballroom repaired and painted for my upcoming birthday party so he hired a group from Ajax Home Repairs to work on it. I am surprised that I know the house painters._

 _Mickey looked up from where he placed blue paint on the wall, when he saw me._

" _Oh howdy, Miss Penelope." He then whistled to his friends. "Fellas, we got company."_

 _Donald, Goofy, and Pluto looked up and grinned. Goofy leapt down from his ladder and his foot landed right smack dab into the paint can. "Gawrsh," he said. "That's a strange place to put a paint can." He then tipped his painter's cap and bowed. "Nice to see you again, Miss Penelope."_

" _It's nice to see all of you again," I said. "But you may call me Penny. Never mind what Duckjoy said." I scuffed my toes shyly unsure of how to proceed. "What are you guys doing?" I asked._

 _Donald rolled his eyes. "We're knitting a sweater," he said sarcastically._

 _I was about to apologize feeling stupid at asking such an obvious question when Goofy interrupted. "I didn't know we was knitting! Good thing I brought my knitting needles and my yarn!" He reached into his pocket to pull out needles and yarn._

" _Goofy, do you understand sarcasm?" Donald asked slapping his forehead, his hand moving down his beak._

" _I don't understand what you are sayin' half the time, Donald," Goofy said. Donald rolled his eyes. "I'd have trouble learning a new language like Sarcasm."_

 _I glance over at Mickey who shakes his head. "Don't worry, they're like this all the time." He then answered my earlier question. "Well remember that we told you that we're all working our way through school?" I nodded. "Well this is what the three of us are doing for now, well among other things."_

" _What are Minnie and Daisy doing?" I inquired._

" _They work at Mortimer's department store," Mickey said glowering at the name of the department store with good reason._

" _Mortimer Mouse?" I said with a shiver._

 _Mickey nodded and sighed. "Unfortunately."_

" _My condolences," I said. Mortimer Mouse is another friend of my parents, obnoxious, arrogant, and sexist are the kindest words I can say about him. The only good thing about him is my parents never tried to set me up with him. Maybe he's too obnoxious for them, but he inherited his family department store so he's in the club too._

" _Oh Miss Penny-" Goofy said._

" _Just Penny," I corrected him._

" _Miss Just Penny," Goofy said again. I have no idea if he was kidding or not, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out an item wrapped in cloth. "You dropped this the other day."_

 _I opened the cloth to see this book. I was surprised that he returned it to me. "Thank you. You wrapped it up."_

 _Goofy said shyly looking downward. "Well I didn't want no paint to get on it."_

 _I blushed equally shy. "You didn't read it or anything did you?"_

 _Goofy shook his head. "Nope I didn't read one word, not even the part where you said my laugh was cute, charming, and contagious."_

 _My mouth dropped open mortified at my privacy being violated like that. But before I could say anything more, Goofy interrupted. "And Mis- Penny, just for the record, I think you have a pretty laugh too and it ain't at all embarrassing."_

 _I smiled at Goofy's words as I felt faint. To retain some normalcy to the situation, I apologized and ran upstairs to return my journal to my bedroom. I waited upstairs for a few minutes, holding my hands to my cheeks feeling them redden. I was embarrassed and exhilarated thinking about Goofy. Despite my better judgment, I returned downstairs to join Goofy and his friends._

 _I entered the room as the guys continued painting a light blue on the walls. Pluto also painted using his tail as a brush._

" _That's a lovely color," I said._

" _Well we thought it made a nice contrast to the primer," Mickey said._

" _It's very lovely," I said. I walked closer to where Goofy painted. He was whistling a tune and then started singing a bit under his breath. "Up and down, up and down. That's the way to paint up and down." He nodded at me._

" _May I try it?" I asked._

" _Well sure," Goofy said. He put his hand in mine and placed the brush into it. He then gently moved my hand up and down while we painted. "See up and down, up and down. That's the way to paint up and down." He said._

" _Up and down, up and down," I sang along with him._

 _He then sang a song softly to me, "The world owes me a livin." While Goofy sang and he continued to lead me to paint, I saw Mickey, Pluto, and Donald out of the corner of my eye. Donald shook his head and rolled his eyes and he snickered. Pluto guffawed rolling on the floor. Mickey shushed them, but he too hid a smile behind his hand._

" _You're a natural," Goofy said._

" _Thank you, Goofy," I answered. I looked in his eyes. Many probably wouldn't consider Goofy handsome in a conventional sense, but he just has this look of pure kindness, honesty, and generosity. Those qualities make him handsome in my opinion. I stepped back, "Well I guess I'd better get going. I wouldn't want your wife or girlfriend to get the wrong idea."_

" _Oh I ain't married, no girlfriend, never had one," Goofy said. "They're the lucky ones." He nodded at Mickey and Donald who smiled at their friend, teasing him but I wonder if they weren't also happy for him. I wonder why he never was romantically involved with anyone. "Never ever? I wonder why," I covered my mouth realizing I said that out loud not to mention it was none of my business. I stammered. "I mean I can already tell, you're sweet, kind, and gentle-"_

 _He shrugged. "I don't rightly know. I guess I was never that lucky in love before."_

" _Before?" I asked._

 _Goofy cleared his throat as he let go of my hand. He was about to raise his hand possibly to tip his hat, but held up instead the one with the paint brush which he then ran along his forehead. "Oops," he said. He then was about to point the paint brush at me, but then placed it on the ladder. "Don't want to get your clothes dirty again," He said then walked towards me, "Penny I was wonderin' if you would do me the honor of-" His foot then got caught on the ladder and he tumbled right into me and we fell into each other._

" _I'm sorry," Goofy said at the same time that I said, "Are you alright?"_

" _Yeah are you," Goofy asked. He cowered probably thinking that I would be mad._

 _I laughed hysterically. Despite Goofy's best efforts, my whole front was wet with paint. He struggled to get off of me, but we tumbled on the ground again laughing. We stopped to catch our breath as Goofy said quickly. "So will you go out with me?"_

 _I was about to answer when I heard a shocked voice gasp, "Penelope Glorybee Libertee Pooch!" I looked up to see my parents glare at me ashamed and at Goofy, Donald, and Mickey like they were insects that deserved to be squashed. "Get up from the floor, young lady!" My mother hissed._

 _I rose up and Goofy with me. "We have spoken before about how you should not fraternize with the help not to mention the fact that you have dirtied yourself once more!"_

" _I'm sorry Mother-" I began._

" _-It was my fault, Mrs. Pooch," Goofy said. "My foot slipped and I bumped into Miss Penny."_

 _My mother glared. "Well I appreciate your candor Mr. Goof, but that does not solve the mystery of why our daughter Miss Penelope-" She emphasized my full name."-was even down here in this room in the first place!"_

 _Daddy glared at Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. "Mr. Mouse, Mr. Duck, and Mr. Goof, I believe that your services will be no longer required."_

 _I could hear Donald say in his distinct voice to Goofy, "Way to go!" Goofy shrugged and hung his head glumly._

 _Mickey stepped forward trying to be even tempered. "Well alright sir, we will send you an estimate of the work that we have done so far-"_

" _-Fine," My father said through clenched teeth. "Send it in the mail!" I knew my father would find a way not to pay it. He likes to put things over on people who work under him, because he thinks that many people in the lower classes are stupid and uneducated._

 _My mother grabbed my arm so hard that I felt like it would fall off. "You are not to see that boy nor his friends again!"_

" _Mother I am 19 years old-" I began._

" _And until you are 21 or married, you are our responsibility and under our command," Mummy declared. "With the way you are behaving you will reach the former before the latter."_

 _She then shoved me upstairs and pushed me into my bedroom._

 _Later that night while eating supper, Duckjoy entered the dining room. "Telephone call for Miss Penelope."_

 _I was confused and wary. Who would call me? Then I rolled my eyes figuring that it was Bradley. I sighed and answered the phone in the main room. "Hello, this is Miss Penelope Pooch," I began._

" _Hi Penny," said a familiar cheerful voice. "It's Goofy, you know the feller that bumped into you and spilled all the paint-"_

" _-I know who it is," I said politely. I guess he thought that I would forget all about him. How could I? "I'm sorry for the way my father treated you."_

" _Shucks, that's alright," Goofy said. "My friends and I are used to jumping from one job to another. I called because you never answered the question."_

" _Oh the estimate," I said thinking that they were still discussing business. "Well I'm sure that your time and duties will be itemized accordingly."_

" _Nah, not that either," Goofy said. "You never answered whether you would go out with me or not."_

 _I blushed. "Really you want to after what happened with my parents?"_

" _Well I ain't asking to go out with your parents am I?" he asked shyly._

" _No," I said._

" _If you like, we can start on a group date, you and me, Mickey and Minnie, and Donald and Daisy. Shoot, even Pluto has a lady friend, Fifi."_

 _In those words, I could feel that same sense of loneliness in Goofy that I saw in his eyes and I remembered how he introduced himself as "Goofy, Third Wheel." He was lonely and perhaps sad that his friends were with someone and he was not. "Of course I will, Goofy," I said. "If you like I can meet you at the café where we first met, Friday night at Seven."_

" _Friday it is," Goofy agreed. "I'll put on my glad rags and my best smile!"_

 _I laughed and said. "I'll look forward to it."_

" _Me too. Oh I'll even show you that sweater that me and Donald was knittin' at your house," I laughed knowing that sarcasm really did miss Goofy by. Goofy said. "I have to go now." We said good-bye and hung up._

 _I looked at the phone, "Glad rags?" I said out loud with a smile. I don't know at this point what my feelings for Goofy are. All I know is someone strange and unique has wandered into my life and something tells me that my life will never be the same again…"_

"… _.I told my parents that I had a Friday night class, so I was able to go out with Goofy and the others. The first date was a lot of fun. We all went to a disco and danced to the latest music: "Get Down Tonight, "Play That Funky Music," "Lady's Night," "I Will Survive," "The Last Dance," all the others. Even Pluto and his "lady friend," a Peke named Fifi were able to dance the night away. I'm afraid that Minnie and Daisy got a bit competitive on the dance floor, but they ended up okay and Mickey and Donald danced really well with them. Surprisingly despite his clumsiness, Goofy actually is a really good dancer! We were able to coordinate ourselves to each other's moves until by the end, we were in a synchronous beat with each other. It was a good night with a lot of laughs and good times. I think I could get used to this group._

 _Mine and Goofy's second date was more memorable. It came about because Goofy walked me home the first night, we came near the driveway of the house. I told him to let me out so I would be far from where others could see me. I made a casual comment that Goofy knew about my family and he's seen my house and I didn't know anything about his. He smiled in a way that I could almost describe as enigmatic. "You want to know about me and my friends, you'd best watch our movies….."_

 _"….The next night was spent watching Goofy's friends' movies. I visited the apartment that Goofy, Mickey, Donald, and Pluto all shared while Goofy welcomed me inside. (The others were out with their girlfriends). I remembered that when we first met, Mickey said something about how him and his friends made cartoons and movies. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Probably some amateurish movies made with a hand held camera showing vacations, school days, holidays etc._

 _It was nothing like I expected! I never laughed so much in my entire life! The cartoons and movies that Mickey and his friends made seemed professional! They were edited and had titles to them. I saw so many different scenarios and hilarious scenes. There were Mickey, Donald, and Goofy hunting ghosts, cleaning clocks, reenacting Jack and the Beanstalk. I saw Goofy pretending to be a knight, a jungle explorer, and playing various sports including gymnastics, skiing, football, and soccer. I laughed so hard that I fell off my chair quite a few times._

 _After he finished one called, "Goofy and Wilbur," I paused to catch my breath. "Could you play 'Knight For a Day' and 'The Art of Skiing' again?" I asked. "Those were my favorites."_

" _As you wish, miss," Goofy answered and he played the films once more._

" _Where did you learn how to do this?" I asked._

 _Goofy shrugged as he shut off the projector. "Well, Mickey, Donald, and I met at the Iwerks Children's Home. We used to get ourselves in quite a few tight spots with Mr. Oswald, our director and Mrs. Ortensia, his wife. One day Mr. Oswald had enough of our pranks and fighting and he just handed Mickey a movie camera and said that if we were going to cause trouble the least we could do is cause trouble on film. Them and Miss Alice, who also worked at the home, worked for a movie studio when they were younger so they had a bunch of props and costumes and stuff lying around so he more or less told us to go to town. He also told us about editing, storyboarding, creating titles so they could be actual movies. Some of these are stuff that really happened to us like the clock cleanin', but others are just stories that we made up."_

" _Wow, that's great," I said._

" _Yeah, Donald and I like doing it, but Mickey really loves it," Goofy said with pride. "He'll be a great director or theatre owner someday." He then took down a picture from the mantle and showed it to me. He pointed at the human woman. "That's Miss Alice." He then pointed at a male rabbit and a female cat. "That's Mr. Oswald and Mrs. Ortensia."_

 _The photo was in black and white. I could see Mickey down in front wearing shorts, his ears and nose were a lot longer. I recognized Donald wearing the sailor suit though his beak was a lot longer. Being taller than the others, Goofy stood in the back dressed in a vest and the long fedora._

 _I looked closely at the picture. They were smiling, but I looked at Goofy's face as he told me. I could feel that loss instantly. "That must have been awful to be raised in a children's home."_

 _Goofy shrugged. "It wasn't bad. Mr. Oswald, Mrs. Ortensia, and Miss Alice were real nice and I would never have met Mickey and Donald if I hadn't been there. Losing my Dad was much harder." He lowered his head sadly and sank down on the sofa next to me._

" _We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," I suggested putting my hand on his shoulder._

" _No, it's alright," Goofy said. "My Mama died birthin' me, so it was just me and my Dad for a long time. We lived in Spoonerville for a time, but we used to travel everywhere looking for work. We didn't have a lot of money, but we had a lot of fun. We went to lots of places, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon. Our favorite place was Lake Destiny, you ever been there?" I shook my head. "It's this great fishing spot in Idaho. Dad and I had the greatest times there just him and me. Someday if I'm ever lucky enough to have one, I want to take my son there."_

 _He sounded so sad and wistful. "What happened to him?" I asked._

" _He took sick and never recovered," Goofy said plainly. "'He passed on when I was 10, I felt like I lost my best friend. After he passed on, my granddad, I always called him "Pop" took me in, but they said he was too senile. So they sent Pop to an old folk's home and me to the Children's Home."_

 _My eyes filled with sympathy for him. "I'm so sorry." It never occurred to me that such a sweet kind man could be filled with such tragedy already in his life-"_

"-So am I Dad," Max said. He never knew that much about his father's childhood. He knew that Goofy was close to his father, but never knew how he died or how old Goofy was when it happened. He also never knew what happened to his grandmother, Goofy's mother. Max wondered how his father felt being sent out alone in the world at such a young age when the one person that you could depend on was gone? Maybe an angrier person like Donald or Max, shuddered at the thought, like himself would use that as a reason to challenge the world to fight anyone and everyone in their path. Goofy however took everything with light and optimism. It filled Max with puzzlement, but also admiration for his father's peculiar strength in that while he could be surrounded by darkness-the deaths of his parents and his wife, frequent unemployment and poverty, the rebelliousness of his son- he could take everything with a grin and pure love and feeling, because he chose to. Because he believed that things would get better. That was probably what Penny connected with, Max reasoned: Goofy's hopefulness.-

" _-Don't be," Goofy said kindly. "You didn't have nothing to do with it. Besides, I still remember my Dad really well and all the good times we had. Mickey don't even remember his folks that much. They died in a fire at their farm in Marceline when he was about six. His sister was a lot older and she took care of him for a little while, but after she got married and had babies, she couldn't afford to take care of him too. So off he went._

 _Donald, well, he don't talk about his folks very much, but when he does I don't think he got on with them, especially his Dad. He grew up in a bad section of Duckburg, and I think they were killed. The way Donald talks he makes it sound like it was his Dad's fault like he lost his temper with someone. So, Donald and his sister, Della lived with different relatives: aunts, uncles, grandparents but for different reasons they never seemed to stay very long with anyone. I mean, you met Donald right?" I nodded. "He don't even get on with his sister, Della, and they're twins. I guess compared to him and Mickey, I'm lucky."_

 _I smiled. "So you formed a family with Mickey and Donald."_

" _Yeah, I guess," Goofy said._

" _What about Minnie and Daisy?" I asked._

" _Well Minnie and Mickey have known each other since Mickey lived with his sister," Goofy said. "And I guess they'd been promising to get hitched ever since they were 8 or 9. I'd only known Daisy since we was in 9_ _th_ _or 10_ _th_ _grade but her and Donald have had a thing for each other since then."_

" _And they've appeared in your movies," I said. "I noticed that they appeared in some of the ones you showed me, especially Minnie."_

" _Oh yeah we all have," Goofy said. "You know you could be in them too."_

 _I laughed and shook my head. "Oh no no no. Not me."_

" _Why not?" Goofy teased. He pretended to shine the film projector on me. "All you do is let the camera point at you and act silly."_

 _I shook my head. "No, I couldn't. I get terrible stage fright. The second the camera is on me, I pale and completely stammer. I'd stare at the camera the whole time."_

" _Well we could always film you from the back," Goofy suggested._

" _I'd be embarrassed," I said. "I'd make a complete fool of myself and feel stupid."_

 _Goofy leaped down from the projector. "I never worry about that. I fall down all the time," He tumbled off the projector as if to prove his point. "And I definitely make a fool of myself, but I never feel stupid."_

 _He led me up by the hand and turned on the radio. The song, "Blue Bayou" played. Goofy took me by the arm and danced with me. He held me closer and put his lips on mine._

 _The kiss was sweet and romantic. Part of me wanted it to last forever, but another part of me was terrified. I drew back. "I'm sorry, I have to go back home," I stammered. "My parents would miss me."_

" _I'll take you home," Goofy offered. He sounded disappointed that the night was over. Between this book and myself, so was I._

 _When we pulled up before the driveway, Goofy held the door open for me and led me out. "Goofy?" I asked. "I learned so much about you tonight."_

" _I'm glad," He said._

" _Goofy-," I paused. "Is that your full name?"_

" _Nah, my given name is George," Goofy said. "Actually my full name is George Geef Goof. Everyone just calls me Goofy."_

 _I smiled. "Good-night, George."_

 _He smiled back. "Good-night Penny.-"_

-The ring on his smart phone broke Max from his reading. Max was so caught up in reading his mother's journal that he didn't realize what time it was. He looked out the window and saw that it was late afternoon, almost evening. He answered the phone. "Hello…Yes this is Maximilian Goof…Yes, I'm Roxanne Canis Goof's husband," Max paled as he listened to the voice.

Goofy and Trixie had finished watching Zootopia when Max entered downstairs. When he looked at his father, Goofy almost didn't recognize him. He was so ashen and pale. He walked down in a daze. "Max, what's the matter?" Goofy asked wondering if Max discovered something in the journal.

When Max spoke next, he sounded quiet and monotone like his voice came from far away. "I got a call about Roxanne. Apparently, she left the wedding early and there on the highway, well um her car…She got in an accident. She's not.. but she's in the hospital."

Goofy sprang up and grabbed his car keys. "Let's go," he said. He led his son and granddaughter out the door.

Max only stopped long enough to tell Trixie to put her jacket on as they followed Goofy into the car.

Author's Note

The Status Seekers was a group in one episode of Ducktales that Scrooge tries to join but refuses when he finds out the club doesn't like his friends and family.

The name of the butler Duckjoy is a play on the name, Lovejoy, David Warner's character from Titanic. The school Lady Tremaine's School for Fine Young Ladies is named for Cinderella's stepmother. The name Elias University is a tip of the hat to their founder, Walter _Elias_ Disney.

With the exception of Goofy, all of the gang's majors are based on careers that they have had in various sources: Mickey from House of Mouse (he owns the House and is referred to as the one who actually directs the cartoons that they show), Minnie from Minnie's Bow Toons (She runs Minnie's Bow-tique), Donald from Ducktales (of course his naval career and he has always had a lot of sea imagery around him like in 1UAC when the boys make him a sail boat from their wooden sleds), and Daisy's from Quack Pack (She is a TV news reporter and always seemed flashy).

Goofy's comment about "If you want to know about me and my friends, you'd best watch our movies" is similar to one that Charlie Chaplin said when people asked him about his private life.

I improvised a lot in describing the guys' orphaned backgrounds, their time at the Iwerks Children's Home, and their families. Since there appears to be no set "canon" to their back stories, I just sort of made it up as I went along. Since Goofy talked about his Dad in AGM and hardly his mother I just inferred that his mother died when he was really young, maybe in childbirth. Mickey's rural background is suggested not only from the early cartoons where he lives on a farm but Walt Disney's own. In fact the name of the town where Mickey's parents lived, Marceline is the same name as the Missouri town where Walt was born. Because of Donald's bad temper and Della's presumed flakiness, I always figured that they did not have happy childhood.

As far as I know Roxanne does not have a last name, so I gave her the maiden name of Canis since it's the Latin word for dog.


	4. Goofy and Max: Don't Take The Girl

Memories of the Dance We Shared

A Goofy Movie Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Chapter Four: Goofy and Max: Don't Take The Girl

Goofy, Trixie, and Max ran into the hospital room with continuous speed. To Max it reminded him of the time when he had a nightmare at Pete's house and his father practically jetted from his house to Pete's just to comfort him.

The Goof family ran to the waiting room outside the OR where another family waited for them, a large burly red-haired male dog, a small thin red-haired female dog and a younger female red-haired dog. Max panted as he approached his in-laws, "Hi, Betty, Kimmy, Rex. How is she?"

Rex, Roxanne's father, stood up and glared at Max in his intimidating stare. Despite his anxiety for his wife, Max stepped back and smiled weakly. Clearly the father- and son-in-law were not yet over that hurdle.

Betty Canis stood up to approach her husband and spoke holding his hand. "Calm down, Rex, it's alright. He's worried about her too," she eased her husband who's eyes went from anger to wide and tearful. "He has as much right to be with his wife as we do."

Betty sat her husband down as Rex beckoned for his granddaughter to approach him. Trixie ran up to her Grandpa Rex and fell into his arms. Rex gave her a big hug and bounced her on his knee.

Betty then faced her son-in-law. "Hi Max" She nodded at the operating room. "Right now, they're working on her. They said that her spine and brain suffered damage upon impact. She's in cri- well right now they're working on her, so that's all that we can hope for."

Max hugged his mother and sister-in-law to comfort himself as well as them. They also hugged Goofy who whispered assurances that Roxanne will be alright.

Max sank down sitting next to his father. "What was she doing out on the road?" He asked aloud.

Kimmy shrugged as she looked up from the text message that she just sent. At 18, she just started college studying forensic science. Roxanne was a great deal older than her and it almost seemed like Kimmy was an only child for how far apart their ages were, twelve years. They had a typical sibling relationship, one of teasing and fighting, but also one of love and support. In fact, Roxanne seemed almost like a second mother to her little sister giving her advice on dating and academics. When Kimmy came out of the closet, she told Roxanne first. Her sister was immediately understanding and supportive. She helped when Kimmy told her parents, bringing them especially their conservative, gruff, but loving father around. She welcomed Kimmy's girlfriend, Pistol, to the family considering her another sister and treated her the same way that the family (well at least Betty and Kimmy) treated Max.

Kimmy knew that she had to help her sister and one way is to find out what exactly happened to her. "We don't know," Kimmy said. "One minute, she was talking on her phone and the next she told us that she was going home. I mean it was late about 8:00 and the drive was so long, five hours. We told her to wait until tomorrow, well today I mean. But she was determined to leave. She seemed upset about something and she didn't tell us what, just that she had to go home. They thought that she may have nodded off at the wheel."

Kimmy's words rang through Max's mind: _One minute she was talking on the phone and the next she told us she was going home…..She seemed upset about something and she didn't tell us that just that she had to go home._ Max's breath caught in his throat and his hands shook. He knew why Roxanne was on the road. _It was me!_ He thought. _Because_ _I_ _called her. She was so worried even though I tried to convince her I was alright. She was so worried that she felt that she had to come home._ The irony of the situation would have made Max laugh except it was so terrifying. He was so worried that something COULD have happened to Roxanne that he ended up inadvertently causing something TO happen to her. Max gripped the seat so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He stared at the operating room where even now doctors were working on his wife. He kept staring at it, using all of his will that she would survive. He almost felt that if he thought hard enough that Roxanne would live from the surgery and if he broke his concentration even for a second, she would die. _Let it be me, not her,_ Max prayed in his mind. _Take me_ _instead. She doesn't deserve to be here. I do._

Goofy looked at Max and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Max didn't know if his father made the connection about what caused Roxanne's accident, but he held his son's hand. "She'll be okay, Max," Goofy said.

"You can't be sure of that Dad," Max said hollowly. "You of all people can't be sure of that. You don't know that she'll wake up."

Goofy hung his head sadly. He knew what Max is talking about. He would have loved to tell Max that Roxanne would recover 100% and that she and Max would grow old together and would sit in their rocking chairs watching their grandbabies. But Goofy knew that may not happen. After all, he wanted that for himself and Penny and it didn't happen. All he could do was support his son. "I don't know that for sure, son. All I know is what I feel and I feel that your wife is going to wake up and that she'll be okay."

Max lay his mother's journal on the table. "You must have really liked it enough to take it with you to the hospital." Goofy nodded at the book.

"It was in my hands when I got the call," Max said softly. "I guess I just held on to it."

"Did you learn about your Mama?" Goofy asked.

"Yes I did," Max said. "I learned about her….and you." Goofy looked at his son in surprise as Max continued. "I didn't know how your Mom and Dad died. You were on your own and you still tried to be hopeful and optimistic and strong. Did you ever think about them, miss them?"

"All the time," Goofy said. "Sometimes I felt sad missing the Mama I never knew, wondering what it would be like to have a Mama with me to heal my boo boos, comfort me when I had a nightmare, or to give me a cuddle when I felt sad. When I told my Dad this, he just hugged me and he said, 'Your Mama gave you your life, but you gave me mine.' After he died, I promised myself that as long as I lived the way your Granddad taught me, then I was honoring his life and maybe hers too."

"You were really lucky," Max said. "To have a father that loved you. I mean Mom didn't and-God, how could they treat their daughter the way they did? Did they ever have any feeling for her at all?"

Goofy lowered his head. He remembered when he told Penny's parents that she died and their response was a cold, "Our daughter has been dead to us long before that car accident." Goofy shook his head not wanting to believe, even to this day, that somebody could be so heartless especially about their only child. "I don't know, Max. Sometimes some people were just born to the wrong parents."

He hugged his son tightly as Max thought. "You weren't the only one who was lucky to have a good father." Max said. "No matter how I may act towards you. I know that I wasn't born to the wrong parent."

Goofy gave his son a tight shoulder squeeze. "Max, sometimes the only thing a father can give to their son is hope. I am giving you the hope that your wife will wake up and will walk out of this here hospital."

Max's eyes shook and he winced. He wanted to remain strong in front of his in-laws, his daughter, and his father but he felt his strength beginning to ebb. Goofy continued to hold onto his son giving him all of the support that he could.

"Is Mommy going to die?" Trixie asked. She had leapt off her Grandpa Rex's lap and approached her father. This was the second time that she saw her Daddy so sad.

Max looked at his daughter as if for the first time. Trixie didn't deserve to be burdened with worry. She deserved to think only the best positive thoughts. Max held out his arms as Trixie timidly approached him. Max wrapped his arms around his daughter and rocked her back and forth. "Of course not. Mommy's going to be okay," He said as he kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Mommy's okay."

As Max rocked his daughter back and forth whispering words of comfort, Goofy smiled at his son and granddaughter. "You and I aren't the only ones lucky enough to have a good Daddy." He nodded at Trixie.

Max smiled as he held his daughter even tighter and gave her another kiss.

The Goofs and Canises waited for what seemed like hours. Trixie had fallen asleep on Max's lap. Max himself had practically nodded off and leaned on Goofy's shoulder when he felt his smart phone vibrate. Max blinked and looked up forgetting for a second where he was. Oh yeah the hospital. The phone vibrated again almost impatiently. Max wearily shifted his three-year-old daughter off his lap then gently moved her towards Goofy. "I have a call," he said. "Could you watch her for me?" Goofy nodded and gently lay his granddaughter on the seat and lay her head on top of his lap. Trixie blinked a little bit but fell back to sleep laying on Goofy's lap.

Kimmy watched Max confused. She didn't know what was going on with him. She saw his expression when she mentioned the phone call. He looked upset and guilty, but not surprised. It was like he knew.

Kimmy picked up her purse and took out another smartphone, different from hers. Instead of purple, it was light blue. Roxanne had left her phone behind at the reception.

Kimmy had forgotten about it until she saw Max rise to answer his phone.

Kimmy flipped it on to see a wallpaper of Max, Roxanne, and Trixie. Kimmy smiled at the happy family and flipped on her sister's contact information. She flipped through "received calls," and saw one number that seemed familiar that was placed at 8:00 PM, the same time Roxanne left the wedding for home. Just to be sure, Kimmy pushed the "call" icon and heard a familiar voice on the voicemail: "Hi this is Max Goof, I can't come to the phone right now…."

Max saw the contact information: Pete, Peter Jr. He sighed knowing full well what P.J. was calling about. They were supposed to create a news video for Max's promotion interview. They had been talking about it and brainstorming ideas about it for days. Max realized how far away the past few days had seemed from the rest of his life. There was nothing like learning about your mother's death and your wife's car accident that made a work promotion seem less important.

Max heard his best friend's voice over the phone. "Max, what's going on over there, man?"

Max instantly apologized. "Oh, Peej, I'm sorry about the video. I know we agreed to work on it, but some things have come up since then and I-"

"What? No, I don't care about that," P.J. said. "How could you not tell me about Roxanne? How is she?" Max started. Okay, while it may have been a matter of public record, for the most part news did not reveal the names of accident victims unless the family was notified. Well okay they were notified. So how did P.J. know? Max was about to continue when P.J. went on. "And I had to hear about it from my sister, not my best friend!"

"How did Pistol know?" Max asked.

"Kimmy told her," P.J. explained.

Max rolled his eyes. "Why doesn't she keep her big mouth shut?"

"Hey, don't take it out on Kimmy," P.J. said. "She's worried about her sister as much as you are. Pistol was comforting her and she thought I already knew. So why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, Peej," Max said sarcastically. "I have been in this waiting room since-" He looked at his watch. "4:00 this afternoon. I'm trying to be a rock for my daughter, my father, and my in-laws. I am worried sick about my wife and haven't heard anything about her condition. My first priority was not to contact my friend!"

"I'm sorry, Max," P.J. said. "I'm just worried about you. You're my best friend and Roxanne is my friend too. You should tell me when something like this happens so I can be there for you. That's what friends do."

"You're right," Max sighed. "I am sorry."

"So how is she?" P.J. asked. Max explained what he knew about Roxanne's condition which amounted to not much.

P.J. sighed. "She'll be okay man. She seems vulnerable and fragile, but she's a lot stronger than most people think she is."

"I know, P.J.," Max said accepting his friend's compliments towards his wife.

"She'll pull through," P.J. said.

"Thanks," Max said. He looked at the waiting room. "Look I have to go. I don't want to leave them too long."

"I understand," P.J. said. "Please keep me and Passion posted."

"I will bro," Max said. The friends said good-bye and hung up.

Max was about to return to the waiting room when Kimmy stood in front blocking his path and holding up his wife's smart phone.

"Where did you get that?" Max asked.

"My sister left it at the reception when she left because of her 'very important emergency!' Guess what or who it was about?" She asked sarcastically.

"Is it bigger than a breadbox?" Max asked. _Depends on the breadbox,_ he thought.

"I checked Roxanne's contact information," Kimmy said. "Someone had placed a call to her at 8:00 right before she left. You'll never believe who it was."

"I'm going to guess since you aren't talking to anyone else about it-" Max began but Kimmy held up her hand.

"What did you call my sister about and why did she leave so upset?" Kimmy said.

Max shrugged. "I don't know. We talked and she asked if I wanted her to come home and I told her no-"

"-Why," Kimmy asked. "Why would she be so worried? Do you have a girlfriend that she found out about?"

"What do you think of me?" Max asked.

"Believe me, Max. You don't want to know right now," Kimmy glared. "What was she so upset about?"

"Nothing," Max said. "I found out something and I just called to see how Roxanne was."

"What did you find out?" Kimmy asked.

"It doesn't concern you," Max answered. He was about to head to the waiting room to be with his daughter and father when he heard Kimmy mutter under her breath. "I guess anything to remove your guilt."

"What do you mean by that?" Max angrily asked.

"Do I have to connect the dots for you?" Kimmy countered back. Max looked at her squarely. "She wouldn't be on the road if it weren't for you!"

Max practically shook with anger. Mostly because he had been telling himself this all day. In front of sympathy, Max could be brave. In front of blame, Max wasn't prepared. It was as though, Max's unconscious thoughts took the form of his sister-in-law. Max wanted to agree with her, but he also wanted to gain control of the situation by denial. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever you told her was not worth her life," Kimmy sneered. "My sister doesn't have to be here!"

Max whirled around and faced his sister-in-law squarely. "She didn't have to come here! No one forced her and I certainly didn't ask her to! She made her choice! I had nothing to do with it!"

Kimmy glared back. "Why? So you don't have to take the blame? Max, it's your fault that she's here in the first place!"

Max raised his fist, ready to punch Kimmy's lights out, female or no when he heard a familiar voice, "Max, Kimmy keep yer voices down! We're in a hospital!"

Max dropped his fist and he and Kimmy turned to Goofy. "Sorry, Goofy," Kimmy said at the same time as Max said, "Sorry, Dad."

Goofy looked from his son to his daughter-in-law's sister. "Whatever you have right now against each other ain't as important as Roxanne! There is a time and place to get mad and this ain't it!" Max and Kimmy both glanced at Goofy visibly ashamed. "Now I'm sure you're both worried about her, but there ain't no reason to be fighting each other. I came to tell you that the doctor came out of surgery."

Max and Kimmy followed Goofy to the waiting room where a surgeon appeared dressed in green scrubs. "Roxanne has been through her surgery. She sustained spinal and brain injury which we have been able to repair."

"Is she-?" Max asked not wanting to finish this thought.

The doctor sighed. "She's alive but she's still in a coma. We moved her to an intensive care room. We won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up."

"But she will survive," Betty asked in her husband's arms.

"She's not out of the woods especially while she's in her coma," the doctor said. "Right now it's a waiting game."

Max waited patiently outside Roxanne's intensive care room while her parents and sister were inside talking to her. His eyes winced as his vision of his wife became blurry through his tears. Kimmy's words came back to haunt him: _She wouldn't be on the road if it weren't for you… Whatever you told her was not worth her life…. Max, it's your fault that she's here in the first place!._ He also thought back to his mother's death. His image of her yelling, " _Maximilian I'm trying to watch the road!"_ mixed with Kimmy's accusation: " _It's your fault that she's here in the first place!"_

Once again, he was responsible for the death or near death of someone that he loved. He barely acknowledged Goofy standing next to him. "It'll be yer turn soon, Maxie."

Max shook his head. If he wasn't responsible for their death, he was certainly responsible for their disappointment. How many times was he embarrassed or frustrated by something that his dad did and how often did he yell at him, particularly when he disowned him? _I screwed up far more than he ever did,_ Max thought sadly.

Max hugged Trixie tightly as she was perched on his hip. His daughter didn't say much, but she didn't look at her mother's direction. She just buried her head in her father's shoulder. Max subtly bounced her up and down and whispered, "shh, it's alright" to her like he and Roxanne did when she was a baby and had woken up from crying.

Max stubbornly tried to keep his tears in check remembering how he described himself to P.J. : _I'm trying to be a rock for my daughter, my father, and my in-laws._ It wasn't the first time that he had been described as a rock.

 _Max was 13 years old and watched his father come home dejected. Once again, he had been fired from another job. "Don't worry, Dad," Max tried to encourage his father. "You don't need 'em! It's not like the whole place exploded! It was just a little grease fire!"_

 _Goofy sighed sadly. Max was confused. Certainly, his father had been let go from so many positions that this should be normal for him. In fact, mostly afterwards Goofy was often hopeful, enthusiastic always eager to start a new chapter in his life. Goofy just meandered into the living room and sank down on the couch. "Maybe we can update your resume tonight?" Max suggested._

" _Why bother?" Goofy said wearily. "I'm just going to lose this job too."_

 _Max thoughtfully shoved the "Past Due" bills far from his father's sight so he wouldn't be more depressed. "Dad, what's wrong? Did you like this job?"_

 _Goofy shrugged. Being one of several cafeteria cooks wasn't exactly thrilling. "It was okay, I guess."_

" _Well, then maybe you should try for a better job," Max suggested. "Maybe one you could really love." Goofy sighed and lowered his head on the coffee table. Max picked up the foreclosure sign on the house and threw it behind his back, so his father wouldn't look at it. "Or maybe Uncle Donald or Uncle Mickey can help you?"_

" _I done told you before," Goofy said. "I don't wanna get in the habit of asking them all the time. Because, I'll always have to and then always feel like I have to pay them back."_

 _Max nodded knowing that his father did have some pride. Goofy continued. "Besides the best job I ever had was one I was only able to have for three years."_

 _Max slightly grinned embarrassed knowing what job he was referring to. "Well going on 14."_

" _Yeah," Goofy said fondly. The sweet moment was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Max looked through the peephole and rolled his eyes._

 _Before he could open the door, Pete burst in as though the house were his. "Salutations, Goof," he said. "I heard about them lousy good-for-nothings giving you the old heave ho! Well, it ain't fittin', I tells ya!"_

" _Thanks Pete," Goofy said._

 _Max could smell the beer on Pete's breath from where he stood. Pete continued. "Well, this is some time for the old Bachelor King! My old lady took off and took those rugrats with her!" Max remembered that P.J. said that he and Pistol were going to go with their mom after Peg and Pete had yet another fight. Of course this was the period that would lead to the Pete family divorce, but this particular fight was only one of many such clashes. "Goof, how would you like to go tie one over with me! Just us two wild and crazy guys?"_

" _I don't know, Pete," Goofy said glumly. "I don't think that I could particularly not tonight of all nights." Max glanced at his father in surprise. What did he mean by particularly tonight of all nights? What was so important about this night?_

" _Ah come on, Goof," Pete said. "It'll be like old high school days! You, me, and some brewskis!"  
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Mr. Pete," Max interrupted._

" _I don't think that's your decision," Pete shot back. He then turned to Goofy. "It'll drown your sorrows."_

 _Goofy glanced at the large cat. Then he stood up determined. "Alright, then let's go."_

" _Dad," Goofy said. "I don't think you should."_

" _Ah, come on, Max," Goofy said. "I'm a grown man! I know my limits!"_

 _Goofy followed Pete at the door leaving a worried Max behind. "I don't think you do, Dad." He said as the door closed._

 _Max tried to concentrate on the television showing one of the Mutilator movies. But he was so concerned about his father that he couldn't tell if it was Mutilator 8: Final Mutilation, Mutilator 9: This is the Real Final Mutilation, or Mutilator 10: Our Bad, This is the Really Final Mutilation, We Swear. He kept looking out the window through his bedroom hoping some sign would tell him that his father was on his way home. Max began to feel drowsy and shut his eyes when a large crash woke him up._

 _Max crept downstairs making sure his movements were silent just in case it was the Mutilator. He inched down the stairs listening and being extra careful. He tensed as he sneaked ever so slowly to the living room light hearing a voice singing. As he reached for the light, he heard a familiar voice sing a familiar song and his fear turned into irritation: "Oh the world owes me a livin'!"_

 _Max turned on the light to see Goofy, his father sprawled on the floor singing off-key and whistling into an empty bottle of whiskey. Max glanced over to the side to see the overturned coffee table and broken lamp that had been the result of the crash._

 _Max approached his father stepping on Waffles who hissed and sprinted off in protest. "Dad, are you okay?" Max asked holding out his hand._

 _Goofy took it and was about to stand on shaky legs. As Max tried to help his taller father to rise, Goofy lost his footing and tumbled to the ground again. "Oops head rush," Goofy said and then laughed._

 _Max glowered. He knew that Goofy going off with Pete wasn't a good idea and now his fears were confirmed. His father was slumped on the floor, dead drunk. Max had never seen his father drunk before. Of course, he mentioned wild parties in his youth and had the occasional alcohol on special occasions. To Max, Goofy always seemed to be someone who was high on life and didn't need drugs or alcohol to get excited and now here he was. It was a new territory that scared and infuriated Max._

 _Max helped his father to stand and this time Goofy complied. Max was able to move his father forward and lead him to his bedroom like a guide to a blind person. "Dad come on, you need to get some sleep."_

" _Sleep," Goofy said. "If only I could sleep like she-she," Goofy stammered and slurred his words._

 _Max opened the bedroom door and helped lead his father onto bed. As he helped his father change into his pajamas, Goofy stood quiet and ashamed. "I'm sorry," Goofy said with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Maxie that I lost my job. I'm sorry that I've been drinking. I ain't been a very good dad to ya."_

" _It's okay, Dad," Max assured his father. "You just need to get some sleep."_

 _Max wrapped the cover as Goofy said, "I'm sorry" over and over become more tearful. "This wasn't what I promised. I promised that I would take care of ya and I ain't been very good at it, have I?"_

" _You've been doing okay, Dad," Max said._

" _No, I haven't," Goofy moaned. He looked skyward and he mumbled, "Happy 10_ _th_ _anniversary." Before he fell asleep._

 _At first Max was confused. While he would have understood, his father being depressed that it would have been his wedding anniversary, Goofy and Penny were married for longer than 10 years. In fact close to 15. Plus, he had always said that they were married on May 1. Max knew that because Goofy always gave spring flowers on Penny's grave every year for their wedding anniversary. But this was January 15, what happened 10 years ago on-! Then Max remembered! This wasn't the anniversary of his parents' wedding, this was the anniversary of his mother's death!_

 _As if confirming Max's discovery, Goofy mumbled. "I ain't doing good by myself. Many jobs, no money, stacks of bills! I'm a failure!"_

 _Max whispered to his father words of encouragement as he held his hand and watched him as he slept as though Goofy were a small child._

 _The next morning, Max scanned through the newspaper want ads looking for something that his father would be good at and would pay a decent amount of money. He also poured some orange juice and made hot buttered toast. (If his father was hung over, he probably wouldn't want to eat very much). Max read through until one ad caught his eye: Wanted Children's Photographer. Max nodded and circled the letter. His father would be perfect for the job. He was great with kids, was patient, and could definitely get kids to pose and smile for the camera. It would be perfect. Max then collected the paper and the food on a tray and walked upstairs._

 _Goofy woke with a pounding headache as Max lay the tray down. "What time is it?" he moaned._

" _11:00," Max said._

" _Let me sleep a little longer," Goofy moaned._

" _Nope," Max said undoing the shades. "It's a nice day and you're getting up." Goofy winced as the sun blinded him._

" _What hit me, a garbage truck?" Goofy asked._

" _Yeah one named Mr. Pete," Max said sarcastically. "I told you not to go with him last night."_

" _Well I wanted to- I wanted to," Goofy said. "Shoot, I don't remember what I wanted to do."_

" _Drown your sorrows," Max mumbled._

" _What?" Goofy asked._

" _Nothing," Max said. "Okay, the mourning period is over. You lost your job. Now time to get a new one and I found just the perfect one." He opened the paper and showed it to Goofy. "Go ahead read it."_

 _Goofy read the ad in silence. "Well it sounds nice, but I ain't a photographer."_

" _No," Max said. "But you work with kids and you used to film your movies with the others."_

" _That's different," Goofy said._

" _What's so different about it?" Max encouraged. "One camera you are moving and another you are standing still. I think it would give you more experience."_

" _Yeah but there will be hundreds of people probably applying," Goofy said. "I wouldn't get it."_

" _You won't know if you don't try," Max told his father. "Now get out of bed, take a shower, get dressed, and we'll work on your resume."_

 _Max took his father's hand and helped him to stand. "I don't know, Maxie." Goofy said. "I don't much feel like it."_

 _Max walked his father through the hallway towards the shower. On the way over he picked up his dad's bathrobe and shower cap. "Hey, you'll be great at it." Goofy stood in silence as Max led him forward. Time for some tough love._

 _Max held up the unpaid bill and foreclosure statement to his father's face. "I know you miss Mom and I know you feel guilty about everything that has happened to us since she died! Dad, Mom is gone and you aren't going to bring her back. Maybe, you got drunk because you miss her or maybe you want to live in some morbid fantasy that she's still alive! But this is reality!" He pointed at himself. "You see me? I'm real!" He moved the bills closer to Goofy's face and waved them up and down. "You see these? This is real!_

 _You need to work to take care of this! I can't do it, I'm just a kid! Dad, if you don't try then you will fail. Mom trusted you to take care of me and you've been good at it. Don't you want to continue to be?"_

 _Goofy's eyes softened and he fluffed his son's hair. "Thank you, Maxie," he said. " You're my rock. You know that? You've always taken care of me."_

 _Max nodded knowing that his child-like father needed to be cared for, needed to be protected. Max had to help his Dad out so he can face reality. He would never be able to do it on his own. On his own, his Dad's klutziness and naiveté would get him seriously hurt or even killed. There needed to be an adult in the house and if Goofy couldn't do it, then it was up to Max._

 _Looking back on that time with older eyes, Max realized that was the beginning when his father's antics became less amusing and more embarrassing. His father became less of a wacky, but lovable goof ball, and instead became a constant source of aggravating irritation for his son/caregiver._

Max's thoughts went from this memory of his father to his wife lying in the hospital. His wife was damaged like his father was damaged then. He had to repair the damage somehow. He remembered the many times when he and Goofy had the relationship where Goofy broke things, Max fixed them. Well Max broke people and it was up to Max to fix them! He had to fix Roxanne and he had to wake her up and take care of her, his daughter, and his father! He had to fix them, he just had to.

Roxanne's hospital door opened making Max jump in surprise as he returned to the present. A weary saddened Canis family emerged. "It's your turn now, Max." Betty said. "We're going to the hotel."

Max nodded as he knelt Trixie down. Since the Canis family no longer lived in Spoonerville, they were visiting and would be staying in a hotel until Roxanne came out of her coma. Plus, they had been awake since yesterday and after driving for five hours were worn out. "I'll keep you posted," Max promised. Betty hugged her son-in-law and granddaughter.

Kimmy then hugged Max and Trixie. "Max about what I said-"

"-Forget it," Max said. "It's nothing to worry about now." Though Max couldn't help, but think that there was plenty of truth in it as well.

Rex looked down at Max, his face impassive. Max didn't know what he was thinking, but he leaned down towards his son-in-law and wrapped him in a giant wordless bear hug. "Thanks Rex," Max whispered. Rex then hugged Trixie and Goofy as they left.

Max, Goofy, and Trixie tensed as Goofy opened the door where Roxanne lay inside. Her body was wrapped in bandages and a neck brace covered her on top. An oxygen mask surrounded her mouth. Her face was also scratched and had bruises on her eyes.

Max accepted Goofy's quick embrace then walked Trixie over to her mother. "Trix, do you want to talk to Mommy?"

Trixie shook her head frantically. The closer that Max and Trixie got to Roxanne in her bed, the more Trixie resisted by grounding her heels. As soon as they approached Roxanne's bed, Trixie hyperventilated and began to scream. "NO! NO! Where's Mommy? I want Mommy!" Max held onto her as she cried in his arms.

"Honey, that's Mommy," Max said.

Trixie shook her head. "No, that's not Mommy! I want Mommy!" She sobbed in her father's arms. "I'm scared, Daddy!"

Max held his daughter tightly. He understood. Trixie was terrified about seeing her mother lying in the hospital bed, bandaged and bruised. To Trixie, she didn't look at all like her mother. She looked almost monstrous to her. Plus, she was afraid that Roxanne would die.

"It's okay, you don't have to be in here if you don't want to be," Max assured his daughter. He knelt down to be face level with his daughter and wiped her tears with his fingers. "I know you're scared."

"I'll take her home and watch her," Goofy said.

Max looked up at his father. "Are you sure, Dad?"

Goofy nodded. "You wanna go home, Trixie Belle?" The little girl nodded with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be here," Max said. He then turned to his daughter. "Can you think of good thoughts for Mommy?"

"Yeah," Trixie sniffled.

"Good because Mommy is going to need all of the good thoughts that you can give her," Max said. "Think of all the best thoughts that you can that Mommy will get better and do you know what?"

"What?" Trixie asked.

"She will," Max said.

"Really?" Trixie asked.

"Cross my heart," Max promised. It was a nice speech and to the bottom of his heart, Max wished he could believe it.

"Okay Daddy," Trixie said quietly as Max held her again promising once again that Mommy would be okay, that everything was going to be okay and that he and her Mommy loved her to the moon and back.

Max then stood up to face his father. "Thanks Dad," Max said.

"Anytime Max," Goofy said giving his son a tight hug. He then slipped a book in his hand. It took Max a second before he realized that it was his mother's journal. "You might want something to read, maybe even read it to her." He nodded at Roxanne.

Max nodded and hugged Goofy again before he and Trixie left.

Max sat down next to Roxanne and held her hand. "Hey Babe," Max said to her. He just tried to pretend that Roxanne was fully awake and listening to him. "You look…well you always look great."

He imagined Roxanne dismissing it by saying something like Max always said that. Max nodded. "Well I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. Trixie was a little- well Dad's with her right now. I think she's dealing with things the best way she can. Dad is, well Dad is Dad. What more can I say than that? Your folks are okay, they're at the hotel right now. Kimmy and I got into it, but well we'll talk about it later." He imagined Roxanne saying something about why her sister and Max don't always get along. "I know you think that Kimmy and I are too much alike. You think we're both stubborn and take things too seriously. Well maybe but I'm worried about you and I don't need your sister nagging at me- well maybe I deserve it." Max said. "I'm afraid of losing you. I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean for this to happen. But I discovered some things about my mother and how she died. I guess I was worried about losing you and leaving Trixie without you. You know she's the same age that I was when-" Max gulped. He imagined his wife telling him something like how he didn't have to worry about something like that. "-I called you wanting to hear you, just worried and I guess I scared you. I'm sorry I scared you. I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted you to come home scared and risk your life." Max winced. He stubbornly tried to keep the tears from falling. Roxanne needed him to be strong for her. "It's my fault, everything is my fault and I'm so sorry."

A nurse came in. Max nodded at her. She was a nightingale dressed in hospital scrubs. Max checked her name tag and read that it said, "Flo."

Flo checked Roxanne's vitals and temperature. "You her husband?" She asked.

Max nodded. "Can she really hear me?" He asked.

Flo nodded. She glanced at the EKG reading. Max didn't know what he was looking for apart from what they showed in movies and TV. "You see sometimes when someone speaks to the comatose patient, the readings go up a little." Max saw the lines seeing that they rose.

"Does she understand me?" Max said.

"I think she's just glad that you're talking to her," Flo said tactfully. "Many patients will respond to voices, music. One of my patients woke up as soon as his friends showed him the latest episode of ' _The Walking Dead.'_ "

"That's ironic," Max quipped.

Flo nodded and laughed. "Sometimes patients respond when they're read to like the Bible, or their favorite classic or romance novel."

Max nodded. "And it helps?" He tapped his mother's journal. Could his mother help his wife?

Flo smiled. "Sometimes I think it helps the family member almost as much as the patient." She motioned to the door. "I have to go back on my rounds. You contact me if there's any change."

"I will, Flo, thanks," Max said. The nightingale nurse smiled and walked away leaving the young married couple together.

Max held his wife's hand and kissed it. "I don't know what I could tell you. But I've been thinking about my Mom lately and Dad showed me some of her stuff including her journal. I've been reading it. I don't know if you want me to read it. It's kind of bragging about my parents but-" He cleared his throat. "I guess at heart it's a romance, like those novels that I always make fun of but you loved- uh I mean love. And I know you love my Dad. Sometimes I think you get along with him better than I do." It stood to reason, Max believed. Both Goofy and Roxanne were very mellow and easy-going. Max by contrast was often serious and wound uptight, worried about something. Often times Roxanne would rub her husband's shoulders or temples and tell him to lie back and relax and let things take care of themselves. Similar to many of the things that Goofy said over the years. Max continued. "I guess I can read it out loud, if you want me to. It will keep us from thinking about-well other things."

Max opened the book and summarized what had happened so far in his mother's life including her wealthy upbringing by her parents, her reunion with Minnie and Daisy and her first meeting with Goofy, the encounter when they painted the house, and their first and second dates including the movies.

"Well I guess that's where we left off," Max said. "Do you want to hear it?" He imagined Roxanne saying yes. "Well I guess I'll give it a try." He opened the book and read the

entry that he left off. "Let's see, here it is: _It's been awhile since I've written in this. I haven't been a good journal writer…."_

Author's Notes

The opening where Max recalls the time Goofy comforted him after a nightmare was from the Goof Troop episode, "Date With Destiny."

Rex is of course Roxanne's terrifying intimidating father. Betty and Kimmy are briefly in A Goofy Movie as the little girl who's picture Goofy takes at the beginning and her mother. Many believe because we never see Roxanne's mother or Kimmy's father and since Kimmy and Roxanne look so much alike that they are family. I liked that idea because it makes Roxanne's family different from Max's.

Of course the nurse who is a nightingale named "Flo" is a tribute to Florence Nightingale, the famous nurse.


	5. Penny's Journal: If I Were You

Memories of the Dance We Shared

A Goofy Movie Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Chapter Five: Penny's Journal: If I Were You, I'd Fall in Love With Me

… _.."It's been awhile since I've written in this. I haven't been a good journal writer._

 _But I have been trying to keep up with my studies and have decided to join the student newspaper, The Elias Examiner. I must admit that I was inspired by Goofy and his friends and what they said about doing what they love and working for it. I told myself that it is cowardly not to mention lazy to just sit and wait for things to happen to me. So when I saw the ad on the bulletin board for news writers, I took a chance and they hired me._

 _My editor, Nick Noseworthy, a nice but somewhat neurotic dog, first noticed me when I was the only student reporter to cover a women's march on campus for the Equal Rights Amendment. (Why shouldn't women be encouraged to work in similar fields as men? And why shouldn't they get paid the same amount as their male counterparts?)_

 _From there, Nick gave me many news assignments including covering my latest, on a fire at the chemistry lab. "My instincts say it's an anti-nuke protest," Nick said. "But you know if you're mother says she loves you…"_

" _Check it out," I said. Nick likes to throw in all the reporter clichés. Admittedly, until I worked for him, I didn't know such things existed._

" _I'm still checking on that one myself," I can tell by his tone that he is joking._

" _So am I," I wasn't sure if he could tell that I wasn't._

" _Alright, let's see what happens," I agreed taking my pencil, reporter's notebook, and tape recorder._

 _The second that I arrived at the lab, I had a feeling that it wasn't a political protest. More of the actions of a student, a specific goofy student._

 _Goofy answered questions from the police officer when he saw me and waved. "Hi Penny!" He called happily._

 _The officer, Chief O'Hara sighed. "Alright, Goof don't let it happen again."_

 _Goofy walked over to me. "I take it that you can tell me what happened at the lab?"_

 _Goofy smiled sheepishly. "Uh, I kinda did that."_

 _My eyes widened. Maybe I was wrong about Goofy. "Political activism?" I asked._

" _Chemistry major," Goofy said. "Or was. Prof. Von Drake said that if he ever saw me again, then it would be too soon."_

 _I nodded wondering about some of the other news articles about accidents that the paper covered lately. "So, did you have anything to do with the kitchen fire-?"_

" _-Home Ec Major," Goofy said sheepishly._

" _-the power outage?" I continued._

" _Electronics," Goofy added._

" _-The computers going dead?" I said._

" _Computer Technology Major," Goofy said._

 _I shook my head. "Do me a favor and don't even attempt nuclear physics," I teased. I shudder to think what would happen if Goofy were in charge of Civil Defense. "You're still trying to find your niche?" I asked._

" _I'm an only child," Goofy said confused._

 _I was confused. What did that have to do with anything? "I didn't ask about your siblings, so why-?"_

" _Because you asked if I found my niche," Goofy said. "I didn't know that I was looking for her. How can I look for something if I don't have one?"_

 _I laughed. "No, I meant your niche um, your talent your future career."_

" _Well I'm still looking for it," Goofy said. "I guess I'll know it when I see it."_

 _I took a few notes for the article and Goofy asked me to go for a walk with him. "I missed you," He said._

" _Yeah," I agreed. "I missed you too." I haven't seen Goofy and his friends much since the night when we watched the movies. "I've been busy," I said way too hastily._

" _Oh I thought maybe I'd done something to ya," Goofy guessed._

 _I shook my head looking at my shoes. "No, you didn't I-"The lady doth protest too much, me thinks. I couldn't disguise the blush that appeared every time I thought about Goofy kissing me. It was different from when Bradley kissed me. When Bradley kissed me, I felt cold like there was something wrong. When Goofy kissed me I felt warm, welcomed. I couldn't think straight. I thought it was best to avoid him until I could sort out in my head, what I couldn't in my heart._

" _Was it wrong?" Goofy asked. "That I kissed ya?"_

" _No, it wasn't," I said. "I liked it, I really did. It was wonderful. I guess it made me nervous."_

" _I was nervous too," Goofy admitted. "I was scared and thought that if I didn't do it, then I'd chicken out and never would."_

" _I hope you don't feel that way about having sex with me," I joked._

 _Goofy shook his head. "No, I don't think of you that way. I mean I do! I mean you're definitely the lady that I would want to-"He ground his feet clearly embarrassed. "I was always told to never- unless the person was special and you are. I just want to be sure that you want to too. I would never force you."_

 _I smiled. I was about to say something more when a car horn made me jump. Goofy turned around to see Bradley appear in his Porsche. "Penelope," he called._

 _I sighed. "I have to go," I said. I was about to leave when Goofy called me back._

" _My friends and I are doing an independent studies project film if you want to see it," Goofy suggested. "We'll all be there. We're doing A Christmas Carol. You might like it."_

 _I nodded. It would make an interesting article, an independent project of a film by a group of talented and creative students._

 _Bradley honked again more impatiently. "Penelope," he said impatiently._

 _I rolled my eyes and turned around heading towards Bradley._

 _Bradley waited until I entered the car and he started it, before he questioned me. "Who was that?"_

 _I hoped that he wouldn't notice my blush. "A student that I was interviewing for an article," I said._

" _That's all?" Bradley asked suspiciously._

" _That's all," I answered. I couldn't tell whether he believed me or not._

 _Bradley stopped at a red light and said silently. "I don't like you talking to other men," he hissed._

" _I have to talk to them to interview them or study with them," I said._

" _It might give them ideas," Bradley said. "I trust you of course, but them-"_

" _You're being ridiculous," I protested. I could feel the blush creep up to my cheeks thinking of Goofy._

 _I didn't say more when Bradley's hand struck my cheek. "Don't ever call me ridiculous!" Bradley said. He pushed me on the neck and shoulder so I would face him. "If you want to be a good wife, you are going to have to learn to obey me while we are dating, do you understand?"_

 _I gulped unsure of what he would do if I said no. All I could do was nod._

 _Bradley smiled. "Good," he patted me on the head as if the last few second hadn't happened. "Now let's get you home. Your father and I have a surprise for you."_

 _When I returned, I dressed for dinner. I was dressed in a long Halston 2 piece black gown with paisley style sequins on the blouse and sparkling jewelry. My hair was curled and my bangs were sprayed. I sighed at my expression in the mirror. I looked like a character from Dynasty or Dallas, pretty, rich, incapable of any thought or emotion beyond what is told to me by others. I turned around not feeling or looking at all like myself. I nodded and looked downwards at my jewelry box and took out two emerald green barrettes. I pinned them to my hair so my ears showed and walked downstairs._

" _I don't understand why you like wearing green so much," Mummy said to me indicating my barrettes. "It's not exactly a trendy color right now." She was dressed in very fashionable red._

" _It's my favorite color," I suggested._

" _Well whatever," Mummy said looking me up and down as if inspecting me for any signs that I would disgrace her and Daddy._

 _I sat next to Bradley and ate in silence as they talked around me. Bradley spoke about his economics studies as well as the latest Gamma events. Daddy recalled his days as a Gamma with Bradley's father and Mummy talked about her time in Lamma Kappa Sorority. "Penelope you do not know what you are missing avoiding the Greek system," Mummy said. "Think of the contacts that you will make."_

" _I'm not interested in joining a sorority Mummy," I answered. I really have never been interested in the fraternities and sororities. Some of the members are nice and have done a great deal for philanthropy and charity. But many use their privilege as a means of attacking others like arranging "dog fights" (mock pageants where they ask girls considered overweight or homely to the frat house so they could make fun of them). The horror stories from some of the former pledges are awful. What bothers me is that these men and women believe that it is their right to behave this way. Like Bradley._

" _I'm talking her around, Millicent," Bradley said his arm around me as though he were their child and I was the guest instead of the other way around._

" _Maybe if your time was spent at the sorority, you wouldn't waste it writing for that rag," Daddy said_

" _I like working at the newspaper," I replied. "I enjoy writing and maybe I could make a career of journalism."_

" _A career of journalism with your lack of intelligence?" Mummy said. "Such a foolish child."_

" _Penelope, you are much too featherheaded to think about working amongst the lower classes," Daddy said._

 _My parents and Bradley laughed like I was a precocious child. "Penelope, you will never have to worry about such tawdry things like earning a living," Bradley said. "Not when you have a good man by your side to take care of that." He nodded at Daddy. "Your father and I spoke about this last night and I asked for his permission." I gave my father a glare. I shouldn't be surprised that they talked without consulting me. Why should my parents break the habit after 19 years?_

 _Bradley knelt down and took out a small box. I picked up the box to see a large admittedly lovely diamond gold ring. "Penelope Glorybee Libertee Pooch, will you marry me?"_

 _I was stunned. I knew it would happen. As far as my parents and Bradley and his family were concerned, it was a foregone conclusion. My mouth dropped open. But before I could say anything, my father said, "Of course she would."_

 _I glared at my father and looked between the three of them. I sighed. "Yes."_

" _Exactly what I wanted to hear," Bradley said as he held and kissed me…._

… _._ "Just think Rox," Max said dryly, "Bradley Uppercrust III could have been my brother. Boy did I miss out on being related to that fine specimen of humanity." He pictured in his head, his wife laughing as Max read…

… _.It was late night by the time that Bradley and I left our house. Bradley invited me into the Gramma frat house and hollered, "Hey, guys meet the future Mrs. Bradley Uppercrust II!" Bradley's fraternity brothers clapped and whistled, some wolf whistled. I heard a lot of them making jokes about the "old ball and chain" and one asking if he was "beating the shotgun."_

" _Nah, total ice princess with her legs together," Bradley yelled as one of the guys offered him a drink from a keg. I flushed embarrassed at the comments._

 _Bradley had quite a good time celebrating our engagement. He continued to drink until he was quite smashed. He sank off-key some songs like, "The Look of Love," and "Wishing and Hoping" (of course singing lines like "show me that you care just for me/Do the things I like to do…") As he sang, he made eyes at The Catterly Sisters and walked over to them. They winked and smiled at him as he touched Margeaux by the cheek muttering something about "not married yet."_

 _I didn't say anything. I always felt uncomfortable at Bradley's fraternity parties, like a wallflower. Now I felt even worse. I dropped the glass of beer that was offered and headed for the door. "Uh oh," I heard one of Bradley's brothers call. "Ice Princess_

 _going AWOL!" I turned to see Bradley, who was about to head upstairs with the Catterly Sisters, look in my direction. I turned around and opened the door._

 _I got as far as outside the front door when Bradley ambushed me. "Where are you going?" He asked._

" _Home," I said. "I think I've done enough celebrating for tonight."_

" _You're not going anywhere," Bradley insisted._

" _Yes, I am," I objected. Bradley grabbed onto me holding me to his chest._

" _So you can give it up to other guys but not to me," Bradley snarled._

 _He pushed onto me and I managed to get out of his grasp. "Let me go! There is nothing going on between me and George Goof!" I winced realizing that I revealed too much! Stupid, stupid stupid!_

 _Bradley gave me an icy grin. "That the goof you were talking to earlier? You know his name? Sounds like he's more than just someone you interviewed." I didn't respond. Instead, I turned around and walked away. "Don't you walk away from me," Bradley commanded. He whirled me around and punched me in the face._

 _Before I could respond, he pushed me to the side of the frat house, ripped off my skirt, and forced me to the ground. "Let me go," I commanded. "Let me go!" I kneed him in the groin before he could finish his work. I took his look of surprise as a means to run_

 _from the frat house holding onto my skirt and pulling it on as I ran._

 _The frat house is far from my parents'. I knew it was a long walk, but I was prepared to make it if it was the only way to get away from Bradley. I got as far as the Interstate when a wrecked green car pulled up behind me. "Lookin' for a ride home, milady?" called a familiar voice._

 _I rolled my eyes not really feeling like talking to anyone especially Goofy. "Where you headed?" I hesitated, Bradley's assault still fresh in my mind._

" _Are you following me?" I asked._

" _Actually this is my way home," Goofy said. "I thought I'd give you a ride in the event of strangers wanting to pick you up."_

" _No one's stranger than you," I teased._

 _Goofy chuckled and held the door open for me. I twisted the engagement ring on my finger until I took it off and hid it in my purse._

 _I walked inside the passenger seat. Goofy looked closely at me. He saw the bruise on my cheek and blood on my lip. I looked down and noticed that I was barefoot. My shoes must have fallen off when Bradley pushed me on the ground. In my haste to put back on my skirt, I didn't realize that it was backwards and inside out. My hair was a mess and my barrettes fell out as well. "What happened?" Goofy asked concerned._

" _Nothing," I said._

" _Did someone hurt you?" Goofy asked._

 _I shook my head. "No nothing like that. I went to a college party and you know what those are like. I got a bit drunk and made a fool of myself. That's all."_

" _Are you sure?" Goofy asked. "Maybe I ought to call the police or somethin'."_

" _No," I said. "I'm fine. Nothing happened that wasn't my fault. I acted really silly and drunk. That's all."_

" _Okay, I'll take you home then," Goofy said._

 _Goofy pulled far from the house and held the door open. "I know you're still working things out and I know that there may be no way. But there's nothing that said we can't be friends."_

 _My lip shook. Mine and Bradley's engagement, plus his assault made me vulnerable. "And you'd be satisfied with that. Honestly?"_

 _Goofy had this long look at me and I didn't have to hear his answer. "I just want to take whatever you have to give me right now."_

" _I really have to go," I said to Goofy. I ran from him, ran from what had happened between me and Bradley, and ran from everything that had happened to me in the last 12 hours._

 _Here I am now in my room, my tears falling on the pages as I hug Bloomsbeary tightly. Soon I will just trade one gilded prison for another. I know where they think I belong. They think that I should be thinking of a wealthy man with a handsome profile and a large bank account. Instead I am thinking of a wide buck tooth smile, an infectious laugh, and large comical dark eyes. It's sort of ironic in a way. Bradley hurt me and then in my efforts to push Goofy away, I ended up hurting him."_

"That miserable bastard," Max muttered under his breath. He imagined Roxanne assuming that he was talking about his father. "Not him! Bradley Uppercrust II! That fucking asshole nearly raped my mother!"

He expected Roxanne to remind him that she got away. "I know but that's not the point! He hurt her, Rox! I know I can't change the past, but-it's not right that he got away with it! If she hadn't gotten away-"He put the journal down and held up his hands. "I just can't read anymore tonight."

He sat in silence and stroked his wife's hand. "I would always protect you no matter what happens to you and I will always love you." Max lay his head down on his wife's hand and kissed her. Then he rested his head on top of her hand wanting to feel close to her. "I'm not leaving you until you wake up," he whispered.

Goofy held open the guest bedroom door as he saw Trixie staring at the window. She was dressed in her blue Rainbow Dash pajamas and her hair hung loose to her shoulders. She whispered into the stars, "Mommy will get better. Mommy will get better." She leaned down with tears in her eyes.

Goofy hung his head sadly and walked into the bedroom hugging his granddaughter tightly. "I'm sure she will, Trixie Belle." Goofy said.

"I'm sending all of my positive thoughts, Gran'pa Goof," Trixie said. "Is it working?"

Goofy nodded. "Of course it is," Goofy assured his granddaughter taking a Kleenex and wiping her tears.

"I'm also sad about Daddy," Trixie said. "He must be sad and lonely sitting with Mommy with no one to help him. Do you think he's okay?"

Goofy nodded. "Your Daddy's very strong. He's taking good care of your Mama." He thought to himself wondering who's looking after Max. He mentally vowed he would see him in the hospital to see if he could relieve his son a couple of hours and let him get some rest. "Now let me get your mind off of this." He said. "Do you want to hear a story?"

"Okay," Trixie said.

"Let see, did I tell you about the time that your Great Uncle Mickey, Great Uncle Donald, and me found a beanstalk?" Goofy asked.

"No," Trixie asked. "Like Jack?"

"Yeah but we were much better than him," Goofy boasted tickling his granddaughter. Despite her worry, Trixie offered a little giggle. "Well once we lived in this place called Happy Valley, where the sun always shined, and everyone was singing…."

Goofy continued the story but Trixie had long fallen asleep before he came to the part when Willie The Giant arrived singing his "Fee Fi Fo Fum," song. He smiled at the sleeping little girl and leaned down. He kissed her good-night and then walked into his bedroom. He looked through the window staring up at the starry sky. He thought of his daughter-in-law lying in her hospital bed and his son sitting by her side. "Roxanne will get better," He said to the heavens above. "Roxanne will get better."

Max sat next to his wife saying different things on his mind, his voice becoming hoarse with talking. When he ran out of things to say, he turned to his mother's journal. Even though he didn't want to read it after hearing about her near rape, Max felt that the journal filled the dead air with conversation and allowed Roxanne to hear his voice.

He read about how Nick, Penny's editor jumped at the chance for her to cover the independent project on A Christmas Carol and that she entered the studio where it was being filmed.

Goofy walked into the hospital room seeing his son's sagging bloodshot eyes, unshaven face, and the hair hanging over his forehead as Max ran his fingers through it. Goofy held onto Max as he pushed his father away, _"I approached the studio where they filmed Christmas Carol; my conversation with my parents during breakfast ran through my head…."_

Goofy tapped his son on the shoulder and then held him by the arm but again Max resisted. "Come on, Maxie, you ought to get home and some rest. You're tired," Goofy said. Once again he pushed on Max's arm but Max refused to leave his wife's side. "Let me look after her for a while."

Max shook his head. "No, I promised her that I would stay with her until she wakes up."

"Max, I'm not saying you have to ignore her," Goofy said. "But you need your rest. You need to come back to us. Trixie needs ya, I need ya."

 _That's the way it is,_ Max thought, _Too many people need me. I help Roxanne; I let Dad and Trixie down. I help them, I let Roxanne down. I help any of them, I let P.J. down. So much to do and I have to get it all done. First things first, Roxanne. I'll get to them soon enough_. Max felt weighed down with all of the people who depended on him. "Until she wakes up," Max said shortly and determined.

"Max, I-"Goofy began.

"Dad," Max interrupted. "If you were in my place and it were Mom here and there was a chance that she would wake up, wouldn't you be here?"

Goofy winced thinking of his late wife and nodded. "Alright, son, just let us know if there are any changes."

Max wordlessly nodded and turned back to face his wife as though taking his eyes away from her for even a moment would result in her taking a turn for the worst.

Goofy lowered his head and left Max alone with his wife as he read to her:

"… _. I tried to find a way to break my doubts about my upcoming marriage to my parents. While we ate, I cleared my throat. "Mummy, Daddy may I ask you a question strictly rhetorical of course?"_

" _Of course Penelope," Daddy said. "What did you rhetorically do?"_

" _Oh nothing," I said. "I was just wondering, suppose I didn't want to marry Bradley?"_

 _My parents looked horrified at me as though I said, "Suppose I wanted to join Charles Manson's family or move to Jonestown?"_

" _Why ever would you not marry Bradley?" Mummy said._

" _Well suppose that I wanted to be with someone else," I said. "Or suppose I didn't want to marry at all." My parents were confused, but I continued. "Like I said, it's rhetorical."_

 _My father smiled icily. "Well rhetorically, I would cut you off from any current or future financial assistance. I would immediately put a stop on your college tuition, so you would have to pay for your education yourself. I would disown and disinherit you, so you would live among the rabble you find so interesting and would have to earn a living on your own which you are too stupid to do. If by chance you have fallen in love with someone else, then I would hire some men to hunt down that someone else and take care of him."_

 _My father gave me a hateful expression that told me that he was telling the truth. I'm sure that he understated what he would do. "And if there were any specific reason maybe Bradley having a bad temper or-"_

" _-Whatever argument that you had was probably a minor incident," Mummy said._

" _Knowing you, you probably brought it upon yourself," Daddy concluded._

 _I bristled not expecting them to take my part so I continued, "Or what if there were any side romances-? "_

" _-What a ridiculous suggestion," Mummy said at the same time my father said, "You had better not consider something like that."_

" _I was talking about Bradley," I said._

" _Well that is to be expected in a marriage," Daddy said._

" _Not to be expected in a proper lady," Mummy replied._

 _Their words made me wonder, especially about my father. "Have you had affairs?"_

 _My mother took on a haughty expression and my father's face turned red. "Those are the details of our marriage," Daddy said._

" _And are not to be done in yours," Mummy said._

" _You will marry Bradley Uppercrust II," Daddy said. "It means everything to all of us."_

" _We only want for you to marry the best," Mummy said. "There is no one better than him, especially for someone who began life as such an ugly duckling like yourself. Do you understand?"_

 _I nodded. "Yes ma'am, sir." I mumbled._

 _I was about to head into the studio when Margaux and Adelaide Catterly followed me._

 _Margeaux and Adelaide smirked at me. "You left the party in a hurry last night," Adelaide teased._

 _I didn't feel like talking to them when Margeaux said, "You shouldn't cry so much. It makes you look puffy and reddish."_

 _I turned my head away from them not wanting to see either the bruise or my anger from the assault last night. 'I'm fine and I had my reasons why I left the party last night."_

 _The Catterly sisters grinned. "Rumor had it, that you had to hurry off to meet_

 _another man," Adelaide said._

 _I glared at the two sisters and walked off as they followed me. "I don't have anyone else in my life."_

" _Of course," Adelaide sneered. "I can't imagine you of all people could do better than Bradley."_

" _Of course no one's more perfect than Bradley," Margeaux sighed._

 _I rolled my eyes and fought back nausea. "He's not really as perfect as you make him out to be," I said remembering how he slapped, punched, and nearly raped me last night._

" _I don't even imagine what Bradley sees in certain Plane Janes," Adelaide said. "If you catch my meaning."_

 _I did. Those words mirrored my mother's description of me being an "ugly duckling," so much that I was growing tired of the insults. I couldn't challenge my parents, but I didn't want the Catterly Sisters to know that they got to me._

" _Rather a 'Plain Jane' with some sense than a blonde bombshell that has none at all."_

 _Margeaux and Adelaide exchanged angry glances. Of course neither missed the fact that they were both well-endowed blondes that were dressed like supermodels. Adelaide said, "You watch yourself, Penelope," Adelaide challenged. "If you don't hold onto Bradley someone might step in."_

" _Yeah, someone like me," Margeaux dared._

 _I had enough of these wanna-be soap opera vixens (or queens, you know because they're cats), that I left them. Plus, I had a story to cover._

 _I greeted Mickey Mouse who stood at the front of the studio. He lifted his top hat and waved it at me. He was dressed in a red Victorian style long coat and long green scarf. "Hiya, Penny," He said. I had already called him to let him know I was interviewing them._

" _Hi Mickey," I said. "Don't you get overheated in that?"_

" _You just learn to think cold thoughts, film in short spurts, and keep the AC cranked up," Mickey winked. I laughed. Mickey looked closely at me. "Are you alright?" He said. "What happened?" He pointed at my cheek._

" _Oh, I um fell and hit the side of our family cabinet," I replied. "It's nothing. It looks worse than it is. Would you excuse me for a minute?" Mickey nodded as I ran to the nearest lady's room and put foundation and blush on my face so the bruise wouldn't be noticed. I hoped this would be the only time that I would do this, but something tells me that if I marry Bradley, it wouldn't be._

 _I returned to Mickey as he gave me some background information about this project._

 _Because Mickey and his friends didn't have a large budget, they often solicited friends and family to act as extras and crew members many of whom play multiple roles which is why many are often on hand even when they are not called to act. They had a wide group of friends from their days at the Iwerks Children's Home and school as well as various relatives such as aunts, uncles, and cousins who are willing to pitch in at a moment's notice._

 _I took notes as I asked. "So what do you think is the draw for them to act in productions like these even if they aren't getting paid much for it?"_

 _Mickey winked. "Well it's amazing what people will do just so they can get their 15 minutes of fame," We laughed. "I think they enjoy performing. I mean, ours isn't the only group that does these. Some of the Princesses and Heroes have created films of their stories and some of the other Animals have too. Sometimes we all work together and put these films under one name._

 _We all have this urge to entertain and make our presence known even if it is just to make people laugh. I also think there's a lot of, love, loyalty and family presence to it." He sighed and his voice became quiet. "This is off the record, but I also think many of us have suffered a great deal of loss and pain in our lives and maybe it's a way to provide us with some good times, happy endings, and, yes, allows us to move forward." He stood in silence for a long time as though he lost his train of thought but he continued. "Goofy probably told you a bit about us, me, and Donald, and Goofy and how we met right?" I nodded as he continued. "Well my father used to have this saying, 'You have to move forward in life.' It's one of the few things that I remember about him."_

 _He looked serious, but smiled again and laughed. "Well let me take you inside where the magic begins," He said as he opened the studio door._

 _I was amazed. The interior looked like a Victorian bedroom with a canopied bed, a fireplace, and a comfortable armchair. I would have thought it was real, save for the cameras, boom lights, and wiring around as well as the people walking around, talking, and generally goofing off._

 _A small cricket, a large red-haired giant, and a blond woman in a gold dress standing in front of a harp glanced at the door. The three did a double take when they saw Mickey._

 _The cricket leaped off the table and onto a loudspeaker. "Mouse is in the forest!" He hollered. The workers all jumped and then sprinted about obviously getting to work, some bumping into each other._

 _I looked at Mickey confused and he shrugged. "They always say that," he said. "I have no idea why." He then called everyone over. "Everybody, everybody," Mickey said. He then pushed me forward. I felt very shy among these people. They were mostly animals, pigs, dogs, bears, ducks, mice, and others. There were some humans as well, including a woman with black hair and two other women, both blondes. They were all dressed in beautiful gowns, the black haired woman in a blue and yellow one, one of the blonds in a white gown and the other in a blue gown._

" _Everybody, this is Penny Pooch. She is doing a story on us for the Examiner, so try to be on your best behavior."_

" _We'll treat her like family," a weasel yelled. Everyone else laughed in return including the weasel that stood next to him. He then stopped looking hurt. I guess he was family._

" _No, Smart Ass," Mickey insisted. "You will treat her better than that." He turned to me. "Where do you want to start?"_

" _Oh I don't know," I said. "Are there any rules about taking pictures during filming?"_

" _Just try not to do it with a big flash," Mickey said. "It might be distracting." I took out the camera. "There are some chairs over there next to the table," Mickey said. "You should get a good view from there."_

" _Okay," I nodded._

" _Okay," Mickey said clapping his hands and telling them to get in their places. "Are Scrooge and Marley ready?" Mickey asked._

" _Aye, I'm here," a familiar Scottish voice said. I turned to see Scrooge McDuck, arrive on the set dressed in a gray nightshirt and cap. "Let's get this ruddy thing over with."_

" _Is Jacob Marley ready?" Mickey asked._

 _A pig in overalls that stood by the camera announced. "They're still working on makeup. That ghost stuff takes a while to put on. That's why I'm filming now instead of him."_

" _He'd probably wipe most of it off anyway," Scrooge said amidst the others' laughter. I took a picture of Mickey and Scrooge having their conversation._

 _I laughed and said aloud. "Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge, very smart casting."_

 _The giant and the blond harpist laughed. "Tell me about it," the harpist said. "Scrooge is Donald's uncle and when Mickey asked him to play the lead he said he would do anything to make sure Donald graduated so he wouldn't have to mooch off of him."_

 _I laughed having a feeling that Scrooge was purposely pretending to be gruff. The harpist stuck out her hand. "I'm Goldie," She said. I shook her hand. "This is my husband, Willie."_

 _The giant shook my hand and my body up and down warmly. "Hi I'm Willie and this is my lovey dovey squeezie wifie, Goldie." He picked up his wife and for the first time I realized that the harp behind her was actually attached to her back! Willie gave his wife a big kiss._

" _I already introduced us you Big Softie," Goldie teased._

" _Oh, I thought it sounded familiar," Willie said scratching his head. I laughed. They seemed very happy together. "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present," he said taking off his wreath and holding it to his chest._

" _And who do you play?" I asked Goldie. I wondered how they were going to put a living harp in A Christmas Carol._

" _Oh, I'm not actually in the movie," Goldie said. "I'm part of the chorus with Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora-"She nodded at the three human women. "We have a song called, 'Oh What A Merry Christmas Day.'" She sang a bit from the song, "Joy to the children far and near/What a wondrous time of year….'" Goldie had a beautiful voice. "Plus, I assist with coordinating the background music to the scene."_

" _I'm here Mickey," Goofy called from behind the scenes. He came up to the set, dressed in a blue-gray makeup and clothing behind Minnie who was dressed in a blue Victorian dress and cap. She carried a makeup case and tape measure. Obviously she did the makeup and costuming for the movie._

 _Goofy tripped over the chains that he held and fell into the door. "Gawrsh," He said._

 _Mickey shook his head. "Are you okay, Goof?" He asked._

" _Yeah, as usual," Goofy said. He stood up. I wasn't sure that it was a good idea for a klutz like Goofy to play Jacob Marley because he would trip into the chains. But he does look like how he's described in the story, lean, thin, and lanky so I suppose they know what they're doing._

" _Alright, we'll do the Scrooge and Marley scene," Mickey said. "Places."_

" _Places," Donald, whom I suppose is the Assistant Director, called through a megaphone._

" _Quiet on the set," Mickey said._

" _Quiet on the set," Donald called back._

" _Everybody be quiet," Mickey said._

" _Everybody be quiet," Donald repeated._

" _You too," Mickey said to Donald._

" _Me too," Donald shouted back. Mickey looked at Donald who laughed sheepishly, shrugged, and then stepped back muttering angrily to himself. "I better go get those lights."_

" _Alright, we'll start from when Marley enters Scrooge's room," Mickey said. Goofy nodded and went through the stage door. "Camera rolling?"_

" _Rolling," the pig answered._

" _Countdown," Mickey told Donald._

 _Donald held up his fingers. "Countdown in 5…4…3….2" He pointed at the setting._

 _Mickey called, "And action!"_

 _Scrooge McDuck, now in the portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge ran into his room and slammed the door, putting several locks on it. He could hear Jacob Marley, actually Goofy call, "Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge."_

" _Go away!" Scrooge called hiding in his chair putting the pillow over his head._

 _Goofy then walked through a hole in the door and some dry ice shown through the air. Goldie whispered, "Goofy's supposed to walk through the door, so they show where they will later animate the special effect."_

" _Ah," I said._

" _Scroooge," Goofy Marley continued to moan. "Ebenezer Scrooooge." Unfortunately, Goofy didn't see Mr. McDuck's cane was still lying on the ground. He tumbled over the cane and landed on the ground._

" _Oh no, Cut," Mickey called._

 _Worried, I ran from my seat to the set and knelt down to Goofy. "George," I said. Goofy must have hit his head because he was out cold. I held onto his hand. "Please be alright," I said._

 _Goofy opened his eyes and looked up at me. "It was worth trippin' so I could see you again."_

 _I smiled as Mickey looked at his friend concerned. "You okay, Goof? You don't need to go to the hospital or anything?"_

" _Nah," Goofy said. "The wind was knocked out of me, that's all."_

" _How many fingers am I holding up?" Mickey asked holding up three fingers._

" _He wouldn't know that anyway," Donald answered._

 _Goofy bristled. "Hey Donald how many finger am I holding up?" He was about to hold up a finger when Mickey interrupted._

" _Alright, that's enough," Mickey replied. "When you are ready Goofy, we'll get back to filming." He helped him stand._

" _Timex ought to have you as their spokesgoof," a large cat in a robe called. I guess he_

 _was playing the Ghost of Christmas Future. "Get a lickin', keep on tickin'." The others laughed._

" _Should we edit that scene, Mickey?" Daisy called. She stood over an editing machine._

" _You know what?" Mickey said. "Let's throw it in. It makes sense. You'd be expecting something like that from Goofy."_

" _I like to make 'em laugh," Goofy said slamming his hand in his palm._

" _Okay now back to the conversation between Scrooge and Marley," Mickey said._

 _They resumed their scene as Goofy said, "Ebenezer remember when I robbed from the widows and swindled the poor?"_

 _Scrooge smiled. "And all in the same day, oh you had class, Jacob!"_

 _I hid my laughter through my hand as Goofy looked proud and said, "Ahyuck, yep!" He did a double take and said, "I mean no, I was wrong! And I am forced to carry these chains for eternity." He thought for a minute and said, "Maybe even longer."_

 _I laughed through my closed hands at Goofy's melodrama confused with gullibility. It's amazing watching him act in his movies. He takes even the most dramatic scenes and finding humor in them. He just embodies a sweetness and humor throughout his entire body._

 _He gave Scrooge's sentence that he will be visited by three spirits (Goofy held up two fingers) and warned him that if he didn't listen that his chains would be heavier than Marley's. "Farewell Ebenezer," Goofy looked down at the cane. It was good ad-libbing that he decided to step over it. "Farewell." He then walked the door as Scrooge called._

" _Jacob watch out for that first-"From behind the door, Goofy bumped into Donald who was holding several lights. The two dropped the lights as Goofy acting like he was in pain. Donald however really was in pain as the lights landed on his foot._

 _. "-Step," Scrooge finished._

" _Cut," Mickey called. "Good job, Donald," Mickey said to Donald who fumed at Goofy. "You made that scene better!"_

 _Mickey engaged in some lighting and scene changes talk with the actors who played Marley and the Christmas Ghosts, so I took the opportunity to interview some of the performers. I decided to begin with Goldie. She told me about her background as a classical harpist in a Toon Town symphony orchestra. She met Willie at her_

 _goddaughter's birthday party (Her goddaughter was the small viola daughter of a_

 _violin mother and an alto sax father. Oh and the goddaughter also has a younger brother_

 _that's a tenor sax. I don't ask.) Willie worked as the party entertainer doing magic tricks and making balloon animals. Shortly afterwards, Mickey hired them to perform in Mickey and the Beanstalk where Willie played the Giant and Goldie played the golden harp that he kidnaps._

" _Did it bother Willie to play the villain?" I asked. After all, he is such a sweet childlike man, I couldn't seem him relishing playing such a character._

 _Goldie smiled and shook her head. "Willie did apologize several times during filming for pretending to kidnap me. But as any actor could tell you, playing the villain is a lot of fun. Besides there really aren't a lot of calls for good giant characters just like none for a singing harp." She nodded at the harp behind her. "That's why I mostly do the background music. At least Mickey and his friends have given us a chance which is more than most people would."_

 _I shrug trying to be as tactful as I can. "I must admit that you two are a very um well-"_

" _-Unusual couple?" Goldie finished. She waved at Willie who waved back and blew a kiss. "A lot of people think so and I must admit I had my doubts at first. 'I mean what am I thinking,' I thought. 'A harp with a giant? Our personalities totally clash, he's a big kid and I am a seriously trained musician!'"_

" _So what changed your mind?" I asked. "Off the record of course."_

 _Goldie sighed and smiled at her husband who smiled back. "Well I suppose that I realized that when you truly love each other none of that matters. I mean in some ways it does, Willie and I will always be different personality wise and our sizes do get in the way at times. But I think we realize that when you love each other, when you truly love each other, you just have to jump into it. You don't think, you just jump."_

" _You just jump," I repeated._

 _Goldie said. "You must realize that as well." I must have looked confused, because she amended. "I mean the way you looked at Goofy."_

" _Oh, I'm not involved with Goofy," I answered._

 _Goldie blushed embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn. Willie always says that I can tell when people are in love, though I do get carried away. I thought when he got hurt that-"_

 _I blushed even further. "Oh, we are friends, but there's a lot more to our problems-" I clearly didn't sound like I pleaded my case well enough. "-Even if I wanted to, well-we're just too different and-"_

" _-Like I said, you just jump," Goldie offered._

 _I shook my head remembering my parents' words and Bradley's proposal. "No, I'm not free to jump."_

 _After I finished watching the filming for the day and getting a few more interviews,_

 _Goofy called me over. "Hey Penny," he caught up to me still holding his chains and wearing the Marley make up. "Thanks for running up to me and asking if I was alright and stuff."_

 _I laughed. "I'm just glad you're alright."_

" _Ah it will take more than a hit on the head from a concrete floor to get the better of George G. Goof," Goofy boasted. "Um, I was wonderin' I got a couple of tickets for a Screwball Comedy Festival to see, 'It Happened One Night,' and Bringing Up Baby' and was wonderin' if you'd like to come with me."_

 _I smiled. I knew about the Screwball Comedy Festival on campus from the student newspaper and wanted to go myself. Those are some of my favorite movies and it would be nice going with Goofy again. "I'd love to," I replied._

" _Good it's this Friday at 6," he said._

" _Just as friends," I asked._

" _Like I said, I'm willing to take whatever you have to give me," Goofy said._

" _It's a date then," I said. "I'll meet you on campus at the Student Union." He smiled as we said good-bye._

 _I left the studio to hear Bradley calling to me._

" _Penelope," he said. I was determined to walk faster when he ran towards me and blocked my path. "I want to talk to you."_

" _I think you said enough last night, Bradley," I answered._

" _Come on, don't hold it over me," Bradley said. He once again stopped me from walking. "I was drunk and out of control and I'm sorry. I'm sorry you took it the wrong way." I stopped. "I would never do that sober, you know that."_

 _I looked downward and Bradley followed my gaze to my fingers. "Where's your ring?" He asked. When I didn't answer right away, he continued. "Come on Baby, don't be that way. We're perfect for each other. It was an isolated incident and it will never happen again, I promise. I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you, Penelope."_

 _Before I could finish he kissed me. Part of me screamed, 'no this is stupid' and another part screamed, 'yes, forgive him.' Before I could agree with the former opinion, I took the ring out of my purse and put it back on my finger. "I didn't lose it nor was I going to return it to you," I replied. "I just kept it off to make sure it was safe."_

 _Bradley smiled. "Of course that's my fiancée, always playing it safe. I should never have worried about you disobeying me or your parents."_

" _You never will, Bradley," I said. He kissed me again._

" _I have to go," He said. "I have a class in ten minutes. I just wanted to see that we're still on."_

" _We're still on.," I said._

" _Good," he said. "You will be able to attend the Country Club for a set."_

 _I thought. "Umm I can't on Friday. I have a class." I thought more about. "In fact, the Friday night classes will be unmovable from now on. Saturday's fine."_

" _Saturday it is then," Bradley said. He patted me on the head as though I were an obedient daughter as he left._

 _I stood in silence when I saw Daisy and Minnie walk up behind me. Minnie was still dressed in her blue Mrs. Cratchit costume and Daisy still wore her pink costume as Isobel, Scrooge's lost love. They waited until Bradley was out of ear shot when Minnie said, "Penny, what are you doing?"_

" _I don't know what you are talking about," I stalled._

" _Did I hear you just talking to Bradley Uppercrust II and he referred to you as his fiancée?" Minnie asked._

" _Yes, so," I hinted._

" _And didn't you just set up a date with Goofy a few minutes ago," Daisy said._

" _I didn't know that my love life was so interesting," I said._

" _Are you going to tell Goofy that you're engaged?" Daisy asked. "Or Bradley that you're in love with someone else?"_

" _I don't see that's any of your business," I said shortly._

 _I was about to walk away again when Minnie grabbed my arm. "Look Penny, Goofy's our friend and he's a great guy. For what it's worth, you're our friend too. We were close once. Are you in love with him?"_

" _With Bradley?" I replied. "We have a good relationship and our marriage will be good for our families."_

" _I take it that's a no," Daisy said dryly._

" _But I meant Goofy," Minnie added._

" _He's a friend that's all," I insisted. I was growing tired of everyone asking me that. "You're so concerned about it, why didn't you tell Bradley about Goofy just now?"_

" _Because Bradley's a jerk," Daisy said. "You could do so much better and you know it."_

" _You don't know Bradley like I do," I said. I really didn't want to talk about this with them._

 _Minnie pointed at my cheek. "Penny, I'm practiced enough in Cosmetology to know when someone's hiding a bruise. Goofy certainly has his faults like anyone else, but he would never leave you with that." I covered my cheek with my hand._

" _Plus Bradley Uppercrust II's reputation is pretty well known among the women on-campus," Daisy said. "Don't think for one second that he has been or ever will be faithful to you." I flushed remembering how at the Gamma House, Bradley openly flirted with the Catterly Sisters right in front of me. I turned away rather than say anymore._

 _Minnie continued, "Maybe you don't think that you deserve to be with someone better than that or maybe you like playing both of them. Just be careful, Penny. I don't want Goofy to get hurt or you."_

" _No one's going to get hurt," I said._

" _Then you have to be honest with someone," Minnie said. "If not, Bradley then Goofy."_

 _Minnie then walked back into the studio leaving me alone with Daisy._

" _Penny, when we came to your birthday party and your mother told us that we weren't invited, you saw it happen didn't you?"_

" _Through my window yes," I answered._

" _Why didn't you stand up for us?" Daisy asked._

 _I lowered my head. I asked myself this same question for years afterward. "I was 7 years old," I said. "I was scared to stand up to my parents."_

 _Daisy nodded. "You're not 7 now and you're still looking out the window." She walked back inside leaving me alone…._

… _I have enjoyed many Friday night trips with Goofy and his friends. Goofy and I started with the Screwball Comedy Film Festival. Halfway through Bringing Up Baby when we were laughing hysterically at Katharine Hepburn singing Baby the Leopard down from a roof, Goofy held my hand and didn't stop until the movie was over. We have also had some interesting dates, from going dancing to having a late night picnic. I love how even though he can't afford to spend a lot of money, every time we go out is special simply because he is so enthusiastic about everything. I catch that enthusiasm and share it with him._

 _We also went on several trips with Goofy's friends around town, such as when we entertained the children at the Iwerks Children's Home. I read to them as the others performed comedy sketches, and invited the children for a sing-along._

 _I think the reason that I still want Goofy and the others in my life is that they are so natural and real as compared to the other people that surround me. No matter how they behave with Donald's temper, Goofy's klutziness, Daisy's flakiness, or whatever, they aren't afraid to be themselves._

 _It's strange how I go from Fridays with Goofy and the others and have the time of my life with them and spend the rest of the week, particularly Saturday with Bradley and my parents and I hover between being bored and watching myself so I don't anger them._

 _While Bradley acted like what happened at the Frat House was an isolated incident, he still lost his temper more often. Once I got into a minor disagreement with Bradley and my mother about one of the wedding details when Bradley slapped me and told me that clearly I didn't know enough to have an opinion and to let my mother handle it. Another time when we were playing doubles at the Country Club, Bradley and I lost to the other couple. Bradley fumed and argued with the others. I tried to stop him and apologized. That's when Bradley turned on me and said that I was just dead weight and a stone dragging him down. Both times he apologized and blamed it on the wedding or his nerves, or the pressure that he was under with school and our engagement. Of course I forgave him and tried not to anger him or disappoint my parents further._

 _With Bradley and my parents, I am shy, proper, and never want to make waves or make them upset with me. When I'm with Goofy and the others, I'm funny, silly, and outgoing. I live two lives and my soul feels split. I haven't told either Bradley about my friendship with Goofy and the others and I haven't told Goofy that I'm engaged. Daisy and Minnie haven't said anymore about it, but I know they feel that I should tell Goofy. Someday one of these lives is going to end but which one?_

 _Sometimes I wonder which of them is me. Who is the real me, Penelope or Penny?_

 _Then there are my feelings for Goofy. We kissed a few times and held hands. These physical signs astound me. I want to deny them like I have been to everyone that they mean nothing and that Goofy is just a friend. But the truth is, I think I am falling in love with him. No, I know I am falling in love with him..._

… _.Last Friday night was maybe the last night I may ever spend with Goofy. He gave me a small bouquet of flowers and we had a late night dinner with sandwiches, chips, and soft drinks. We ate on a hill overlooking Toon Town. I could see the colorful lights dim during the night as even the buildings yawned and slept. Goofy took out his small radio and we danced to soft rock songs like "I'm Not in Love," "Dream Weaver," "If," "Summer Breeze," and others. Goofy held me close as we danced. We were so entwined that my feet were almost on top of his. Goofy kissed me and I sank down with him onto the table cloth. "This has been my favorite night," I said lying next to him as we kissed under the stars.. "It's so quiet and beautiful. I wish it could be like this forever."_

 _Goofy sat up and moved from my hold. I was afraid at first that I had said too much, but he tilted my chin up. "Well, what if it was?"_

" _What if what was?" I asked._

" _What if it was like this forever?" Goofy asked. "What if you and me could be together forever?"_

 _I paled as Goofy opened his pocket and took out a small box. "What I am gettin' at is Penny would you marry me?" I opened the box to see a gold ring. I could tell that it wasn't as fancy as the one Bradley gave me. It was a plain gold band. I could see an inscription around the band. I read closely, "Penny I luv you forever, George.' Bad spelling aside, I knew that Goofy must have spent a lot of money for the engraving. Like everything else he does, Goofy gave this ring from his heart. I had tears in my eyes. "Oh George, this is so sweet and you are so wonderful. As much as it hurts to say this, I can't." I handed the ring back to him._

 _Goofy looked stunned. "Why not?" He asked. "It ain't because I'm a big clumsy dumb goof is it?"_

 _I shook my head seeing that underneath that easygoing nature and naiveté that Goofy can be so down about himself. "No, of course not," I assured him. "Anyone who sees that is a complete fool because they don't see a wonderful kind man with a large heart, a great sense of humor, and yes is smarter than anyone, especially himself gives him credit for."_

" _Oh," Goofy said. "Is it because I don't have two cents to rub together and you're used to fine livin'?"_

 _I shook my head. My constant anxiety about my father's threats to cut me off have nothing to do with my concerns about Goofy's financial status. Goofy continued. "I mean you're used to be treated like the princess that you are and I can't do that, so I don't blame you for being scared."_

" _Goofy, I have been treated like an object my whole life," I said. "You are one of the few people that have ever treated me like a real person. I will always love that about you."_

 _Goofy smiled but he was still perplexed. "Then why?"_

 _I lowered my head. "I could never help you in our married life. You're right that I'm used to fine living, but it has nothing to do with how you think you wouldn't help me. I wouldn't be able to help you. I have spent my whole life pampered and cared for and I hate it, but that's all I know. I would be a load and a hindrance to you. What if I am unable to find work to help you?"_

" _Penny, you of all people should know better than that," He gently scolded me. "I've read your articles in Examiner. I've even, well, I've been keeping them in a scrapbook. You're a great writer! You should do that be a newspaperwoman or a writer or somethin'! You have such a love in you when you write about the people that you want to help. When you write about things like women's rights, didn't you ever think that could be referring to you too?"_

 _I thought about it. Despite my parents' and Bradley's negativity, my earlier suggestion to become a journalist entered my mind. Could I do that? Was I good enough? I continued deciding to tell at least part of the truth of my parents' threat. Goofy might as well know what a coward he was getting. "My father said that if I married a man that they did not approve, then he would cut me off immediately. I wouldn't be able to finish school. What would you do with a wife who couldn't even finish her education?"_

" _Well I wouldn't say nothin'," Goofy said. "Instead I would march myself down to registration and drop out of college myself. Then I would work to put you through school."_

 _I was stunned. "You would do that?" I asked. "But you'll be in your senior year soon. You'd be almost finished."_

 _Goofy shrugged. "Finished with what? I can't even choose a major. I was never much for book learnin' anyway, but you, Penny, you are so smart. You deserve to go as far as you can go in college and deserve to walk down that aisle in your cap and gown and get your diplomy and I'd be marching with ya in spirit!"_

 _Goofy kissed me. He made it sound so simple and I was almost tempted but I also felt guilty about the biggest reason of all. "George, I can't marry you because I'm already engaged-"_

" _-I know," Goofy said at the same time that I said, "-to Bradley Uppercrust II." I started. "You know, how? Did Daisy or Minnie tell you?"_

" _No, how does Minnie and Daisy know?" Goofy asked. "That first night when I took you home, I saw you take off your ring and hide it. I guess I was hopin' that it was over between you, but I guess not."_

" _You knew that I was engaged and you never said anything?" I became angry. "You just let me go with you even though you knew that I wasn't free to?"_

" _You never told me that you were engaged!" Goofy reminded me._

 _My mouth dropped open and I wanted to object, but I couldn't. "You're right," I said. "I'm sorry. I was so stupid. I just wanted my life to be different and I didn't want to hurt you."_

" _Then don't," Goofy said. "The only way that you could hurt me is to say no."_

 _I winced letting tears fall from my eyes. "No, George, I can't. You are a good man and you deserve a good woman who would never hurt you or lie to you."_

" _Penny I love you," Goofy said with tears in his eyes._

 _I wanted to tell him that I loved him too, but I'm not someone who deserve his love. "Don't, George, just don't. I can't marry you it would be reckless and foolish. Bradley Uppercrust II and I are getting married and that's all there is to it."_

" _He is the one that hit ya that night wasn't he?" Goofy guessed. I couldn't believe how perceptive he can be when the occasion called for it. "And he's hit ya since then hadn't he?"_

 _I gave him a non-answer. "We have our problems and they need to be worked out, but marrying him is what I have to do. It's what I want to do."_

 _Goofy lowered and shook his head. "Penny, why are you so afraid?"_

 _I started. "I'm not afraid." I said._

" _Yes you are," Goofy said. "You know you talk a good game about writing for others and speaking for them and wanting your own independence, but you're scared of it. I'm offering it to ya, and that scares you more than my Dad's story of meeting Big Foot scared me when I was a young 'un. You'll go on and you'll marry that Uppercrust fella' not because you want to, because it's safe for you. You'll deny it, but that's why. Little by little, the things that I love about ya' that fire, that spirit, that brain will all be gone. If he don't appreciate all those things about ya' and accept them then, in my mind he don't deserve you! It ain't foolish if there's real love there."_

" _And you're the expert on being foolish," I said bitterly. I was angry because of Goofy's words, angry because I know he's right and I have no defense for it. I chose instead to get on the defensive. "Goofy for once use your head! It would be an impractical idea for us to get married. There are too many strikes against it and not enough advantages. I can't marry you. I don't want to marry you. Now, take me home!"_

 _Goofy led me to the car being uncharacteristically quiet. He said nothing on the way home. I flip back the pages to read the words that I said to him. I guess I told him alright, yes, I certainly did. My parents were right, I am a stupid ugly girl…._

… _.. Oh it wasn't over. This morning, there was a little coda to mine and Goofy's last night together that may be getting worse soon. All weekend, I tried to avoid talking to anybody just playing the obedient daughter and fiancée. I knew that I was acting, that I was lying about who I really was. This was the role that I would be forced to play for the rest of my life. I could hear Goofy's words in my head: Penny why are you so afraid?_

 _As I left my American Novels: Late 19_ _th_ _-Early 20_ _th_ _Century Class, I met Goofy. I looked downward and I could tell that he was still hurt from my refusal. "I didn't think that I would see you again," I began._

" _I wasn't sure that I wanted to," Goofy said._

 _We both began to talk, "Listen-" "I'm sorry-" We stopped and laughed bitterly remembering how similar this conversation was to the one we had when we first met._

 _I decided to start. "I thought a lot about what you said all weekend and you're right. I am afraid. I'm afraid of who I am, of what I want, and especially how I feel about you. My whole life people have held a mirror to my face and I don't like the person I see-"_

" _-That must be an awful lot of mirrors," Goofy said. "Don't they have something better to do?"_

 _I shook my head. "It's a metaphor, George. I'm comparing my life to a mirror's. When people judge me, I often feel ugly, stupid, or cowardly and they say it so often that I believe that I am."_

" _I think you're beautiful, smart, and brave," Goofy said._

" _It's easier to believe the bad things that are said about you isn't it?" I asked. " You and your friends opened up a new life for me and I will always love all of you for that. You let_

 _be myself, because you are all yourselves. I feel like I fit in and I belong somewhere, but I don't. Not really. We're just too different. I know you want me to be your girlfriend and you want me to marry you, but the person that you believe me to be doesn't exist. The person that I am could never make you happy. All I can offer you is my friendship."_

 _Goofy's eyes filled. "This is real hard for me to say, but I don't want your friendship." My heart sank, but Goofy continued. "Not if it means that I have to watch you with a bashed in face and can't do nothin' about it. Not if it means that you come to my house after a fight with your husband or your parents and I'm supposed to just give you a hug and take you home. Not if it means that one day, you'll close the door on me because they'll order you to. Not if it means that you'll go on thinkin' yourself to be ugly and stupid and I won't be there to tell you that it ain't so. That would hurt too much. I don't want to just be your friend if it means that I'll have to say good-bye to you one way or another."_

 _I understood. I suppose. I had just entered his life and reentered Daisy and Minnie's and I was going to have to phase out of their friendship once again. Well I suppose I would always have the memories of five wonderful friends and a sweet lovely man that I realized too late that I loved._

" _I guess this is it then," I said._

" _Yeah I guess so," Goofy said. He held me close and kissed me._

 _I might have ended there if I didn't hear a nasty snooty voice say, "Well Hello, Mr. Friday Night Class, I presume?" Goofy and I looked up to see Adelaide Catterly looking at me. She looked Goofy up and down. "Well I would have thought if you were having an affair at the very least he was handsome. My mistake. It never occurred to me that you were into the circus clown type."_

" _What do you want, Adelaide?" I asked._

 _She smiled snidely. With her thin sallow face and upturned nose, she was almost ugly. Her haughty expression further added to her cruel demeanor. "I just came to tell that Duckjoy saw you getting into a mysterious green jalopy last Friday with another man who was clearly not Bradley-" She sneered at Goofy. "-And he told your mother, who told Mrs. Uppercrust, who told my mother who told me and Margeaux. So consider yourself in big trouble!"_

 _I sighed knowing that I would get caught eventually but Adelaide wasn't finished. "Your parents would like to have a chat with you and the Goof in private. Oh and one more thing my sister told Bradley. I don't think he's very happy right now." She said sarcastically. I shudder to think what will happen when Goofy and I talk to my parents…._

… _.. It wasn't as bad as I feared and that's what worries me._

 _Goofy and I sat next to each other in our family parlor as my mother silently and coldly glared at Goofy while my father fumed. "How could you do this, Penelope?" my father commanded. "You have disgraced your family name!"_

 _My mother shook her head. "We are planning for an early summer wedding! Your gown has been ordered and all the details have been planned. We will be sending out 500 wedding invitations. All of the elite from this side of the Coast will be invited including the Countess Demaree! How do we tell them that our daughter's a slut?"_

" _She ain't a slut," Goofy objected. "Anyway, she did the right thing! She wanted to end it an' We did!" I couldn't believe even in this late date when I did everything wrong and behaved so recklessly and foolishly: engaging in this double life and sneaking around, being unfaithful to my fiancé, disappointing my parents, and breaking Goofy's heart that Goofy still chose to defend me._

" _I suppose compared to the loose women of your class, our daughter is not a slut,"My father snorted._

" _But she has left a smear on our reputation by sneaking behind her fiancé's back and making love to a house painter! This smear may take a long time to recover!"_

" _I'm sorry Daddy," I said sadly. "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to disown me."_

 _My father nodded, his face becoming completely red in his ire. My mother in comparison was pale cold. "We will do more than that," Daddy said. He turned to Goofy._

" _You young man will never have a future! I will see to it that you will never get a job or settle anywhere! You think the poor are so fascinating, Penelope? He won't be so fascinating after living on the streets! You, young lady, will attend a convent in Europe and only after a year of complete seclusion will I even consider forgiving you!"_

" _Who says that we need to go to such extreme measures," my parents, Goofy, and I turned to see Bradley looking through the door._

 _Bradley walked into the room. I thought that he would be as angry at me as my father, but instead he smiled. He walked over to Goofy and me and looked at us in silence. He then stuck out his hand and patted Goofy on the shoulder and gave me a kiss on the lips. "Now that Penelope's secret double life has been exposed, we need not resort to such dramatic tactics, Reginald," Bradley said._

" _Bradley, she is our daughter-"My father began._

" _And Penelope is to be my wife," Bradley continued. "She just had a youthful indiscretion. She experimented, that's what College Life is all about experimentation. Anyone can forgive such an error in judgement."_

" _You are taking this rather well, Bradley," my mother said._

" _Yes, you are," I said confused. Somehow his calm scares me more than the rage that I initially feared. "What are you getting at, Bradley?"_

" _I'm simply 'getting at' forgiveness," Bradley said. "One of those maxims that they have is never go to bed angry, so I intend to forgive you, Penelope, as well as Mr. Goof."_

" _Oh," Goofy said at first then he smiled. "Well that's great!" He shook Bradley's hand heartily. "Perhaps, I was wrong about ya!"_

 _Bradley took his hand away from Goofy's and for a moment, I could see his usual snobbish irritation return behind his faux kindness. "Indeed," He said. Then he resumed his nice-guy demeanor. "In fact I would love to go so far as to invite Mr. Goof and Penelope's new friends to her upcoming birthday party."_

" _Really?" Goofy said with a big grin._

" _Really," Bradley said. "We plan to make a formal announcement of our engagement at the party. Though clearly, I admit being apprehensive about my, ahem, competition. So you and your friends are certainly invited."_

" _I don't think this is such a good idea, "I said very suspicious of Bradley's suddenly generous nature._

" _Why so, Penelope," Bradley said. "You're not embarrassed by your friends are you?"_

" _Are you Penny?" Goofy asked._

 _I looked into his soulful eyes. "Of course not."_

" _And if what he said is true then the two of you are no longer going to be involved are you?" Bradley asked._

" _No," I said._

" _And you don't wish to hide any more secrets do you?" Bradley asked. "After all you keeping secrets is what got you into this mess in the first place. If you had been honest with either myself or Goof here you would not be here now."_

" _Well true but-"I continued._

" _-So there are no issues in extending the invitation is there?" Bradley said. "In fact I will even go so far as to say that if Penny has any further second thoughts by the end of the party, then she has my permission to marry the Goof. My blessing's on you both. But if she decides to become the future Mrs. Uppercrust II, then you will have no further involvement with these people. After all, there will be no need to reopen old wounds will there?"_

 _I looked from my parents, to Bradley, to Goofy. "Alright," I agreed. "Goofy, I would like to walk you out."_

" _Well that wasn't bad at all," Goofy said gladly. "I thought they'd have my head!"_

" _They still might," I mumbled. "George, Don't go. I don't want any of you to come to my party."_

 _Goofy looked downward. "So you are ashamed of us. I should have known it was too good to be true."_

" _No," I said. "I'm not." I sighed. "Of course you can come. But listen to me, George. You and your friends better be careful that night. I just have this terrible feeling that Bradley's planning something."_

" _Maybe you're worrying over nothing," Goofy said, but he sounded uncertain as well._

" _Maybe I am, but-"I said. "Goofy, just be on your guard and tell the others as well."_

" _Okay," Goofy said. "Okay, don't worry. We will be." He leaned closer to me, but I stepped back and shook my head. Goofy reluctantly accepted and said good-bye before he left\\..._

… _.. These past few days, I have spent a lot of time thinking. I have voluntarily avoided Goofy and the others spending more time with my parents and Bradley. Neither have said anything about Goofy or my upcoming birthday party. Anytime I asked, they were quick to change the subject but also quick to remind me that I was where "I belonged." I spend a lot of time looking at Bradley's engagement ring and thinking about my future._

 _I looked through the articles that I had written so far for the Examiner: the Women's Right's March, the film of Mickey's Christmas Carol, an interview with first year students talking about their expectations and anxieties about college life, a lion professor who wants to start a Cultural Studies program at the university, students who are planning a protest at a nuclear power facility in Springfield, an upcoming event in which students and professors will be feeding people at a soup kitchen. (Nick actually wants me to do an expose on fraternity and sorority hazing. I told him that I would think about writing it, but thought it might be considered a conflict of interest since I was with Bradley. Now, I am wondering if I should write it after all.)_

 _These articles are the beginnings of someone who is starting to see more of the world than her small corner and wanting to help it. Someone who is finally able to make her voice heard and feels ashamed about having and hoarding so much while others have so little. Could the person who writes these articles refine her voice until it is heard by a wider audience? Goofy thinks I could, but he doesn't think like other people do. He sees the world in his own unique vibrant way. He is always hopeful and optimistic and for a few minutes I see life that way too. Could I transfer that hopefulness so that other people can hear me too?_

 _I knew one thing: If I married Bradley, I would never find out. I could see myself slowly rejecting all of the things that I was truly beginning to understand and believe: feminism, civil rights, nuclear disarmament, helping others. I would turn into a mindless Stepford clone hiding the pain of my unhappy home life and marriage behind lots of makeup, designer clothes, and a haughty expression that has nothing but contempt for "those people." I would turn into someone who attended wealthy parties with all the so-called right people, made demands of my servants, and judged my children by their appearance and the sizes of their friends' family's bank accounts. In short, I would turn into my mother._

 _I wondered what I could do about my fears and wondering if I could help Goofy and the others. I know that Bradley and possibly my parents are up to something, possibly humiliating them in some way. Perhaps I could find a way to stop them or failing that make them hear me._

 _I glance at the Examiner archives and considered. Of course! Not for nothing am I studying to be a journalist! I may be able to find something in the archives that could help me and of course that hazing article could prove fruitful. I wonder what I would find….._

… _..I can't believe how much has changed in my life in the last 12 hours that it seems like I'm a different person than I was yesterday. One day I sat in my fancy bedroom contemplating my future wondering if anything is going to change and now the next night, I am sitting in an apartment with my two best friends ready to embark on a new life and a new world._

 _Let me put this entry up to speed. I didn't find a whole lot in the Examiner archives that I could use against my parents or Bradley except one small police blotter from last year mentioning a young girl that was assaulted outside the Gamma house. The description was so familiar to what happened to me, that I wondered if it could lead to something. I copied the blotter and folded it inside my pocket._

 _The next night, I prepared for my party dressed in my light green gown, a blue bow in my upturned hair. I walked down the hallway hearing the doorbell ring. I knew that no guests were expected for another hour, so I was confused as Duckjoy opened the door to admit a strange young red-haired vulpine woman. I recognized her as a young intern working for my father. "I wish to speak to Mr. Pooch," she said._

" _I'm sorry Miss…" Duckjoy said._

"… _.Fairfox,," She said breathlessly._

 _Duckjoy continued. "Miss Fairfox, but Mr. Pooch cannot be disturbed right now."_

 _Miss Fairfox sighed. "Then may I speak to Mrs. Pooch please?"_

 _Duckjoy spoke again clearly irritated. "I am sorry but Mrs. Pooch is indisposed right now.."_

" _It's alright, Duckjoy," my mother said chilly. Frankly, if I were Miss Fairfox, I would not want to be alone with my mother when she took that tone. "I will speak with her." She indicated for Miss Fairfox to follow her in the library._

 _When I was a little girl and I went exploring in the family house, I often searched the rooms for a secret passageway or a family ghost or something interesting. I remembered I found one small passage connecting the library to my father's study. I had forgotten all about it until my mother led Miss Fairfox to my father's study. I gingerly stepped into the library and nudged the false wall until it opened. I hid just outside the door so I could make a clean escape in case my father or someone came into do some reading but close enough so I could hear my mother's conversation. My mother was in the middle of berating her guest._

" _If you were foolish enough to get yourself in trouble, that's not my affair nor my husband's," my mother shot back._

" _Please Mrs. Pooch," Miss Fairfox begged. I had the feeling that she was crying. "I'm not under any condition to give birth to a child. I'm unemployed and have very little money."_

" _I fail to see how this is our concern," My mother said._

" _It is when Mr. Pooch is the father!" Miss Fairfox half shouted._

" _Will you please lower your voice?" My mother commanded. My mother's voice became so quiet that I had to strain myself to hear. "Now where is your proof?"_

" _Mr. Pooch is the only one that I have been with since then," she said. "He has to be the one. Mrs. Pooch, I don't need a father for…in fact I don't even want this pregnancy at all. I can go to Planned Parenthood, but I don't have any health insurance. I just need money…"_

" _How much?" My mother said._

 _I didn't hear the amount, but I did hear my mother clearly said. "Here's enough to get you out of my sight!"_

" _Thank you, Mrs. Pooch," Miss Fairfox said. "I promise I won't come to you again."_

" _I hope not," my mother insisted. "You think you are the first woman to come to my husband about this particular issue?"_

 _I waited until my mother and Miss Fairfox were out of the room and out of ear shot before I emerged from the library passage catching my breath. I harbored no illusions about my father's reputation, but I was astounded how far my parents' hypocrisy went. My sympathies were for Miss Fairfox and those other women. How many women had my father seduced and my mother paid off to get rid of them? I suppose I will never know._

 _For now, I decided to leave the information that I had about my parents and Bradley close to my chest. Don't use it unless it's absolutely necessary, I thought to myself._

 _I waited at the front surrounded by my parents and Bradley as we greeted visitors. I accepted hand kisses from the men and shakes from the women and the occasional air kiss from older women. "Just think this is what it will be like for the rest of our lives," Bradley whispered to me as he held my hand. I nodded offering a small smile. "Penelope, you could attempt to look like you are having a good time. Smile?" I managed a big wide fake smile that would put a game show host to shame. Bradley smirked. "Not like that." I resumed my original smile and he broke into a wide grin and said, "Ah, the entertainment has arrived."_

 _I looked towards the door as Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Pluto arrived. They gave me wide grins and waved widely. My parents rolled their eyes and Bradley leered in a way that made me uncomfortable. In rebellion, I smiled and waved back as Mr. Duckjoy announced, "Mr. Mouse, Miss Mouse, Mr. Duck, Miss Duck, and…Mr. Goof." They were dressed very well. Mickey and Donald wore black tuxedos (though Donald didn't wear pants) and black bow ties. Minnie and Daisy wore long lovely pink and blue gowns. Goofy was dressed very well in a dark blue tuxedo and red bow tie._

 _I walked up to my friends and greeted them with large hugs and a wide grin. "Thanks for coming, everybody." I said. Even if I still didn't trust Bradley's intentions of inviting them, I wanted them to know that I was still on their side._

" _You're welcome, Penny," Mickey said._

" _We just had to come," Goofy said. He looked me in the eye with that sweet loving look that he looked at me before. I wanted to say more to him, but I knew that in public wasn't the time._

 _We were interrupted by my father who ordered Pluto to be removed from the building. Mickey looked disappointed, but he led his friend outside. "Come on, boy," He petted him on the head. "We should do what they say. I'll get you a doggy bag later." Pluto looked hopeful at the bribe and agreed waving his tail as Mickey led him outside._

 _I ate with my parents and Bradley as Goofy and the others exchanged conversations with the other guests. While I didn't hear all of them, I later heard what they had said. When a Hollywood producer asked Mickey what he planned on doing with his future, Mickey responded that he wanted to direct and make cartoons, the man responded with. "Well what are you going to do to entertain adults instead of the kiddies?" Mickey then calmly explained that adults liked animation as well and that they appealed to all ages. The man said. "Of course adults who appreciate the formulaic content of such infantile affairs."_

 _Minnie spoke with a woman who asked her where she bought her outfit. "Oh I made it," Minnie replied proudly._

" _Indeed," the woman said patronizingly. "It does look rather…secondhand. I suppose that explains things."_

 _Daisy added that a couple of women talked about how film versions of books were overshadowing the original content. "Just think," one said. "Someone would only capture the fantastic prose of John Irving's The World According to Garp while flipping through the Dating Game."_

" _They wouldn't," Daisy pointed out. "the Dating Game is on late at night here. There aren't too many films on, well except the Late Late Show."_

 _The women looked at Daisy squarely. "You watch the Late Late Show and the Dating Game?" One said. Then she laughed. "It's such a breath of fresh air that someone thinks the satirical genius of the Ellen James Society can compare to Bob Eubanks and his Whoopee Questions."_

" _Bob Eubanks hosts the Newlywed Game," Daisy muttered angrily feeling embarrassed. She then walked towards Donald._

 _Donald said that he talked about the food when a couple of men made fun of him constantly asking what he said. Donald became red faced and said, "I said, this beluga is delicious, you stupid fool!" using their inability to understand to his advantage._

" _What was that?" one man asked._

 _Daisy interrupted and said, "He said 'the beluga is delicious, like Russian blue!" She said glaring at her boyfriend staring him down._

 _Donald sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I said."_

 _Bradley didn't react to the others except Goofy. First he led him to the hors d'oeurves and invited him to eat one that looked like horseradish. Goofy unknowingly ate it and his mouth burned. He caught his throat waving his hand up and down over his open mouth._

" _You alright, Goof?" Bradley said. "How about something to wet your whistle?" He offered him a drink. I'm not sure but I think I saw him put hot pepper inside. Goofy swallowed the drink and he spat it out in pain._

 _I walked over to Goofy patting him on the back and giving him an actual drink of water. "Bradley, that's enough," I said. "Are you alright, George?" I asked._

" _George?" Bradley questioned as Goofy drank the water and flashed an okay sign. "Maybe you should sit down," I suggested. I glared at Bradley._

 _Bradley laughed. "What? I can't help it if the Goof can't eat like a gentleman." He laughed._

 _I sat across from my parents as a slow dance played, "Friends and Lovers." Goofy walked up to me and held out his hand. "Would you care for a dance, Miss Penny?"_

 _Bradley smirked. "I don't think Penelope would want to dance with someone with two left feet." He laughed in such a way that annoyed me that I decided to show him up._

 _I held out my hand. "I would love to dance with you, George," I said pointedly._

 _Goofy held out his hand and led me to the dance floor as we danced slowly. I moved with him as we looked in each other's eyes. The words to the song really hit me, "We don't have to be one or the other/Oh no, we could be both to each other." Why did I feel that being just Goofy's friend was enough? Why couldn't I allow myself to be more to him than that?_

 _My eyes filled and I was about to say something, "Listen George-" I began just then we were interrupted by a change in number. The song quickly shifted to a fast number, "My Sharona." Goofy stopped but then continued to dance fast with me. The tempo changed getting faster and slower as Goofy became confused but gamely danced along with me. Goofy bumped into several other dancers and tripped over them._

 _The dancers all fell down as Goofy and I tumbled to the floor. "Are you alright?" we asked in unison. "I'm fine," I said. "You?"_

" _Yeah," Goofy said. "Funny about the music?"_

" _Yeah really funny," I said sarcastically as Bradley appeared walking away from the band with a smile on his face._

" _I think that I should cut in," Bradley said sarcastically as he held out his hand. He picked me up and before I could say more, he danced me across the floor._

" _Did you change the music?" I said._

" _Moi," Bradley asked. "It was just an error in the band's playing. That Goof doesn't need my help to trip over his own feet."_

" _Why are you doing this to him?" I asked through clenched teeth._

" _I? I am not doing anything," Bradley said. "Except exposing the klutz for the bucolic fool that he is and is certainly not a good match for you."_

" _How would you know what is a good match for me?" I asked._

" _If anyone should, it should be the man that you are to marry," Bradley said._

" _Are you sure about that?" I asked angrily._

 _Before I could say anything, Bradley took my hand and led me to the bandstand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Duckjoy invite two figures inside. He didn't announce them and I didn't recognize them with their hooded sweaters pulled over their faces. My heart sank and my chest clenched anticipating something that wasn't good. Bradley told the band pianist to play a fanfare when he stepped up to the microphone. "I would like to have your attention please," Bradley said. "As many knows this is Penelope's birthday and I would like to believe that I have given her the most precious gift that she could get just like she has given me my most precious gift. Well, Penelope and I are to be married."_

 _There was a murmur of excitement as the pianist played Wagner's Wedding March and my parents and the partygoers applauded. I looked straight at Goofy who lowered his gaze looking sadly and turned his back. Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Daisy walked towards Goofy, no doubt offering their sympathies._

 _Bradley held up his champagne glass and said, "I would like to propose to my lovely fiancée, our wonderful families, and such loyal friends, and to the future happiness that we will share. To future happiness."_

" _To future happiness," the people said._

 _Bradley put down his glass. "And I would like to thank my fiancée for having the kindness to hire such entertaining guests as Mr. Goof and his friends Mr. Mouse, Miss Mouse, Mr. Duck, and Miss Duck. They have proven to be quite entertaining and I would like to reward them personally." He nodded at the Catterly Sisters and the two hooded men. "Ladies, Gentlemen if you will."_

 _Margeaux and Adelaide Catterly picked up bottles of seltzer water and squirted them at Goofy and the others. They winced as the water poured all over their faces and torsos. "No," I said as the guests laughed and Bradley chortled loudly._

" _Hi ya cuz," one of the men said as he lifted the hood revealing himself to be a gander._

 _He spoke to Donald as he threw a pie in his face. "Gladstone," Donald cursed. "You goddamn-" He continued to rant and rave as Gladstone tossed another pie at Mickey and Goofy, and Minnie. He tossed another one in Donald's direction but he missed and it hit Daisy square on. He looked a bit upset at that one._

 _One of the hooded men lifted his hood and poured what appeared to be red dyed syrup all over them. With a "hot-cha-cha," he revealed himself to be a large rat._

" _Mortimer," Mickey hissed as Mortimer laughed. I knew him as the owner of his parent's department store and Bradley's fraternity brother. I had only met Gladstone Gander once at a frat party and knew he was Bradley's brother as well. Mortimer laughed hysterically and threw the syrup at Mickey._

" _Stop it," Minnie commanded as he poured some at Donald and then at Daisy._

" _Hey," Goofy commanded. "Leave my friends alone." Mortimer smiled and did the same at Goofy._

 _Minnie glared at Mortimer. She didn't say anymore but walked up to him and slapped him in the face. Mortimer had a long look as though he were seriously considering not doing it, but instead he smiled eerily. He was clearly enjoying the mental torture and he poured syrup all over Minnie's face and down it fell on the beautiful gown she had made by hand._

 _The others laughed, particularly Bradley. "What a performance," Bradley laughed. "Now for the Grand Finale, I suppose you would like to go now would you?" Bradley held up his hand. "Mortimer, if you would care to-" Mortimer led Mickey and the others to a small corner of the floor. They were too dazed to really notice Mortimer press a button. The five friends jumped clearly from electric shocks that Bradley and Mortimer must have placed on that area of the dance floor and was triggered by the button._

 _Gladstone looked clearly upset by this development. Maybe he was out of the loop. "Guys that's enough!"_

" _Stop it!" I shouted trying to jump off the bandstand when Bradley grabbed my arm and held onto me forcibly. "You're not going anywhere," He hissed._

" _Yes I am," I hissed. Looks like it was absolutely necessary. I should have said this when they started, but everything happened so fast. Now was my moment. "I am not behind the Gamma house with you and I am not like the girl you hurt last year!" Bradley tried to deny it, but I could see in his eyes and knew that I hit too close to the bone for him._

 _I hoped that I would be able to stop him, but instead Bradley's expression reddened and he seemed almost insane in his rage. He called out to Mortimer, "Full power, Mortimer!" He smirked at me as he grabbed me and held onto me. I noticed that the guests' laughter seemed to get less as they got shocked. Perhaps this was too far gone. But no one stopped this humiliation. I was disgusted at these cowards particularly at my parents who though they didn't laugh clearly smirked like they enjoyed the show but did not want to debase themselves by admitting it._

 _I had enough! Bradley held onto me tightly to keep me from moving. Even though his upper body strength was impressive, I managed to kick him in the shin and dig my heeled shoe into his foot. Before he could react, I punched him on the mouth. "This was the only thing I learned from you," I declared as I jumped off the bandstand and ran to Mortimer's side. I grabbed the button from the rat's hand and threw it on the ground stomping on it with my foot._

 _Mickey and the others helped each other to stand holding onto each other catching their breaths in silence. They were a mess with water, cream pie, and syrup all over themselves. I wanted to cry for them._

 _Bradley clapped his hands and walked to my side putting his arm around my shoulders. I pushed myself off his grasp. He glared at me, but then turned to the others. "Thank you all for the performance," He said. "But I think it's obvious to all and sundry that clowns like you don't belong here. Now, I insist you leave and never come near my fiancée again!" He hissed the last words._

 _Mickey nodded his head to his friends as they left one at a time. Mortimer, Adelaide, and Margeaux laughed but Gladstone ran up to the friends. Gladstone grabbed Donald by the arm. "Don, I'm sorry," He said. "I knew about throwing the stuff but not about the electric shocks! I didn't want them to hurt you or Daisy. I'm sorry, cuz!"_

 _Donald glared and shouted something that I wasn't sure was, "Says you" or "Fuck you." Under the circumstances, I wouldn't have blamed Donald for saying either._

 _I followed them holding Goofy by the shoulder. "George," I said. "Don't go." I begged._

 _Goofy lowered his head. "Penny, we are just too different." He walked away._

 _I turned back to my parents and Bradley, glared wordlessly, and prepared to follow them. For this I had spent my life trying to be the perfect daughter and perfect fiancée and they treated my friends so cruelly or stepped aside while others did. I turned on my heels and prepared to follow Goofy out the door._

 _I opened the door when Bradley grabbed onto me and forced me into the house. My parents followed him and surrounded me. The three formed a tight circle. "Where are you going?" My mother asked._

" _With the man I love and my friends," I declared. Bradley then slapped me on the face and I commanded. "Don't you dare touch me again!" Bradley stopped. "I want nothing more to do with any of you!"_

" _Penelope how dare you say that about your future husband or your parents!" My father snapped._

 _I pulled off my engagement ring and tossed it at Bradley. "You are not my parents and he is not going to be my husband!"_

" _How can you say that when your father and I only want what's best for you," my mother insisted._

" _No you only want what's best for you," I declared. "None of you love me. You are all vain and superficial and none of you know any real love, just pride and ownership._

 _It was alright for the two of you as long as I was your little doll to play with and dress however you want, say whatever you wanted me to say, and do whatever you want me to." My parents blanched at my speech but remained silent. I then turned to Bradley. "And you, you don't know any love either. You are a sadist who delights in giving pain and abusing others. You think that you're some kind of hero, but you're not. You're a monster! I will not go into an unhappy marriage where I have to pretend to look the other way if my husband hits me or sleeps with other women. I will not turn into a cold fish who verbally abuses my child by calling her stupid or ugly and will certainly not stand by offering money because of even the slight chance that our good name will suffer! I will not turn into any of you!" My parents looked puzzled probably wondering what I know._

 _All politeness was gone from Bradley and he curled his ball into a fist. I stepped aside before he made contact. "If you ever hurt me or come anywhere me or my husband again, I will tell people what you tried to do to me and I will tell them about the girl."_

" _You don't know anything about it," Bradley hissed. I could tell he wondered if I did._

" _Do I?" I asked. "Don't forget that I'm a journalist. All it took were a few questions asked by the right people. She seemed very happy to talk to me about it." I put on the acting performance of my life hoping that Bradley didn't catch that I was bluffing. It seemed to work, because he unclenched his fist._

" _Penelope," my father began. "Don't forget what I told you! If you go with that man, prepare to be miserable for the rest of your life."_

" _So I can end up like Miss Fairfox?" I countered. My father drew back and my mother actually became almost jaundiced. "Her or any of the other women? How many women did you seduce, Daddy, and how many bribes did you offer, Mummy, so they wouldn't come forward?" I lost my chance to prevent this party disaster for my friends, but I would make damn sure that Goofy and the others would never have to worry about my parents or Bradley coming after them. "If you even threaten us, I will see to it that all of you go to jail or at the very least your reputations take a hit!"_

" _You are a spoiled ungrateful child," My mother commanded._

" _No," I said. "I was your daughter, but I'm not anymore."_

 _I left my parents' home for what I hope was the last time. I could still see Goofy walking away. "George," I yelled._

 _Goofy turned around surprised as I ran to his side. He looked at my hand to see that it was bare and smiled. He then took his engagement ring out and slipped it back on my finger where it belonged. "I guess I'll be moseying down to registration then," Goofy said._

 _I smiled through my tears. "First let's get you guys cleaned up."_

 _I am now sitting in Minnie and Daisy's apartment. They let me stay here until Goofy and I are married in a week's time. We are all cleaned up and dressed in our night clothes. Minnie, Daisy, and I are reminiscing catching up with each other about our lives in between our childhood and now, laughing, giggling, watching and making fun of romantic comedies. It's good to have my two best friends back. I ask if they will be my bridesmaids. "I mean it's not going to be a big thing," I say. "Goofy and I are just getting married next week in front of a judge so it will just be you two, and Donald and Mickey and probably Pluto." I laugh._

 _Minnie and Daisy exchange grins. "Like you have to ask," Minnie says. We laugh as Daisy hands me some popcorn which I willingly eat. I know there will be hard times. There may not be money. I may have a difficult time getting used to doing all of the little things that others take for granted like doing my own laundry, or learning to drive or cook. Of course Goofy will have to work for both of us while I am in school. I will have to learn what it takes to earn a living. But now I can't wait to see what lies ahead….._

… _Well I did it. I am Mrs. Penny Goof. Despite being a feminist, I had opted to take Goofy's name, occasionally using Pooch-Goof. But I want as little to do with the Pooch family as possible. The ceremony was short and sweet. It was a short 15 minute affair in front of a Toon Town judge and our five best friends. When the judge asked if we wanted to be husband and wife, we both said "I do" gladly._

 _Our wedding night on the other hand was wonderful. I never thought that Goofy could touch me in a way that makes me feel like a woman…"_

… _.._ "I think that's enough of that section," Max said. He flipped through the page onto the next. "It continues." He flipped a few more pages. "Still more." He flipped a few more disgusted at what he was reading. "Oh come on seriously?" His eyes widened at another page. "In public? I am never going there again!" He flipped through again, completely nauseous. "Oh God, Dad! No eye contact!" Finally he got to a section that didn't make him want to gouge out his eyes and deprive himself of his short term memory so he could forget what he just read. "Here we go, Graduation….."

"…. _I stood in line as the dean called my name. I accepted my diploma and smiled at my husband who cheered loudly sounding off a noise maker. I shook my head embarrassed but laughed. After the ceremony, I posed with the rest of my friends for several pictures taken by Mickey's sister, Donald's grandmother, and other friends and relatives._

 _Donald's sister, Della gave her brother a big hug. "Congratulations, Dumbold!" She teased. She held the hand of a large burly tattooed man that I knew Donald didn't care for but was her current boyfriend._

" _Thanks Dumbella," Donald teased. Della also hugged Daisy as well._

 _Mickey and Minnie accepted the hugs from Mickey's sister, Amelia and Mickey's nieces and nephews particularly his favorite nephews, Morty and Ferdy. The two had grown a bit since I last saw them playing Bob and Martha Cratchit's sons, Peter and Tiny Tim._

 _Less anyone think that Goofy and I were alone, well we had family present as well. Of course the people who bore and raised me never showed but Goofy's grandfather did. He is a sweet but absent-minded man who looks like a more faded version of his grandson, more strictly black and white with a long beard down to his ankles. He gave me a kiss. "So this is the lady who stole my grandson's heart are ye?" He nodded at his grandson. Goofy was still in his orange factory uniform. I could tell from his droopy eyes that he was exhausted coming off an 8 hour shift. I told him that I would understand if he slept in, but he told me no that he wanted to come to his wife's graduation._

" _You love my boy don't ya?" Pop asked._

 _I nodded. "Yes I do, very much so."_

 _Pop nodded and pointed at his head. "He ain't got a lot upstairs. But what he don't have here, he makes up for in here." He pointed at his heart. "That boy's got a heart the size of Alaskey and Texas put together."_

 _I know," I said with pride and guilt. I feel guilty that Goofy had to sacrifice so much to put me through school. When the tuition bills came he never said anything, just continued to work. He never complained about the books and supplies that I needed just kissed me and said that his wife needed those supplies so "she could be the best writer ever." He continued to cut out my articles and put them in his scrapbook and I believe that he was more excited than I was when I received the job of writing the events calendar at the Toon Town Talker daily newspaper. He picked me up, swung me around, kissed me, and then took me out to the fanciest restaurant that he could afford. That's Goofy he never asks for anything for himself. He gives so much of himself to others. One thing that I vow every day that I will be the reporter that he deserves so he will know his sacrifice is worth it._

" _Like I told his Daddy when he married," Pop said. "Son there'll be tough times but if there's love, real love there, then them tough times'll be worth it. You see?"_

 _Goofy walked up to me and smiled. "I think I do, Pop." I said kissing my grandfather-in-law on the cheek. Pop giggled and blushed._

" _Gawrsh, she's a keeper, Georgie," Pop said. "Hold onto her."_

" _I'm gonna, Pop," Goofy said as he kissed me on the lips. "I'm gonna every day…."_

…"I'm going to too, Roxanne," Max said slamming the book shut and holding his wife's hand. "I want that too. I want that real love that will last through the tough times like my parents had. But I want more than what they had. They only had five years of marriage, five before she died! My Mom never got to grow old with Dad, never got to see our wedding, never got to meet her granddaughter! That's what I want, us to be married longer than they were! I want us to someday look back on this many years from now and say, 'Wow, that was tough but we made it. We made it together!' I want us to be together and I don't want you to die! Please, I love you. Roxanne, please stay with me!"

Max held his wife's hand in silence and lowered his head, his vision blurred by his tears. He suddenly felt a slight movement from Roxanne's hand as her fingers curled slightly. He then felt the smallest breath from her mouth. Max raised his head to hear Roxanne whisper, "Max."

Author's Note

Goofy's various majors and his accidents are from the great comedy film _What's Up_ _Doc_ (1971), including the "political activist/chemistry major" dialogue. _What's Up Doc?_ also has the "everybody be quiet/You too/Me too" dialogue as well.

Mickey's father's maxim about "moving forward" is purposely similar to Walt Disney's quote about "moving forward" famously used in _Meet the Robinsons._

Disney historians probably will get Jiminy Cricket's call "Mouse is in the forest." It's a play on the line that many of Disney's employees used to say, "Man is in the forest" (from _Bambi_ ) whenever Walt Disney was about to enter. Basically it was a call for everyone to stop goofing off and get to work.

Goldie's goddaughter's parents are none other than the Violin Princess of the Land of Symphony and the Alto Sax Prince of the Isle of Jazz, , the protagonists of the Silly Symphony cartoon, _Music Land_ (1935). It figures that the Singing Harp would be a friend of theirs.

Of course this implies that the cane scene in _Mickey's Christmas Carol_ is a "throw it in/ad lib." Another in this fic was based on a real-life one from _It's_ a _Wonderful Life_ (1946). Goofy bumping into Donald who dropped lights making the scene better. The real life incident actually happened to Thomas Mitchell, who played Uncle Billy as he left the Baily home. A crew man dropped some lights. The sound of dropping lights ended up sounding like Uncle Billy bumping into garbage cans so they kept the sound in as well as James Stewart's laughter and Mitchell's "I'm okay, I'm okay" ad lib. The crewman was paid a small stipend for "improving the sound" on the scene.


	6. Penny's Journal: Really Not That Differe

Memories of the Dance We Shared

A Goofy Movie Fanfic

By Auburn Red

Chapter Six: Penny's Journal: Really Not That Different

Max walked inside the clinic waiting room and waited for the people with whom he wanted to speak. He thumbed through a _Time_ magazine barely paying attention to the article on President Trump's latest outburst when suddenly he felt someone grab him from behind. He could see nothing but darkness as his body was instantly hoisted to his feet. He would have been more terrified if he hadn't heard a familiar low husky voice say, "Guess who, Maxie."

Max smiled, "Tank, put me down." Tank removed his hands from Max's head and complied to Max's request sending him landing on his bottom. Max glared but upon seeing his large friend's wide grin and the smaller woman next to him laugh, Max offered a laugh too.

"Hi Mona, Hi Tank," Max said greeting his friends as Tank helped him rise.

"Hi Max," Mona greeted her former boyfriend with a warm hug. Tank also hugged his friend lifting him to his feet. "You wanted to see us?" Max caught his breath feeling momentarily like his spine was about to crack.

"Yeah," Max said. "I need to ask both of you something. Can we talk?"

Mona and Tank exchanged glances and shrugged. "Sure. Can you meet us at the cafeteria in an hour?" Mona asked.

"Sure," Max nodded.

Max waited in the cafeteria for the married couple to arrive. Mona and Tank arrived as promised. Max stifled an amused grin. The two were a study in contrasts. Mona barely came up to Tank's elbow. She was outgoing and friendly while Tank was quiet and shy despite his large size. But the love between the two was apparent. Max's romantic feelings for Mona had long evaporated and vice versa, so Max felt like Mona and Tank were like a brother and sister to him. He also knew that they were good at their occupations and would be the perfect people to help him with Roxanne.

Max greeted the couple and exchanged pleasantries before Tank began. "Saw you on TV, good job."

Mona nodded. "You're doing really well as a reporter."

"Thanks," Max said with a sigh. "I wish I could feel better about it, but it's the last thing that's on my mind." He and P.J. presented their audition video to the station and he arrived for the interview polished and professional. He was glad to be promoted to on-air news reporter and was able to cover a few big stories like a bank robbery, a city council meeting, and a demonstration against Trump's immigration policies. He should be proud of himself, but really he wasn't. "The main reason that I accepted the promotion is so I can have enough money for Roxanne's at-home care."

Mona and Tank exchanged knowing glances and nodded. "Yeah, we heard about that," Tank said.

"We're very sorry," Mona said sympathetically. "This must be hard for you."

Max shrugged. He didn't want to admit that it was. Because Roxanne was also an on-air reporter doing mostly lifestyle and human interest feature stories, the station reported about her accident and wished her well. In fact she received a get-well bouquet and signed card from all her colleagues at the station. "How is she doing?"

"I wish I could say she was better, but," Max said his voice catching. "She's fully conscious and is eating solid food regularly. Her facial scars have healed. There will still be a couple on her nose and forehead, but…well she'll always be beautiful to me.

But her lower half is still paralyzed and she's in a wheelchair. Her hands shake sometimes. The worst part is her mind isn't…well it's not…."

"She's having trouble mentally possibly emotionally as well," Mona guessed.

Max nodded. "She gets these mood swings and gets frustrated easily or starts crying.

She forgets things like our daughter's name or in the middle of a conversation; she'll just trail off and stop talking. The doctors say that's normal, but she's going to need help now and later."

"That's where we come in," Tank guessed.

Max nodded. "Roxanne will be coming home soon and she's going to need a nurse." He turned to Mona. Besides being a friend of theirs, the station had interviewed the couple for health related news so Max knew of their professional reputations which were well praised indeed.

"Mona, you're the best hospice nurse I know. I trust you completely and know that you would take care of my wife while I'm at work." He then turned to Tank. "Tank, you're a great physical therapist and you'll be great helping Roxanne to use her legs again when the time is right. Our health insurance should cover it. Roxanne will be on disability for a while and I can certainly pay for it. It would be nice if a friend was there to help her through this, so would you both help Roxanne, please?"

Mona smiled. "Of course Max, I'll take care of her."

"And I'll help put her on her feet," Tank promised.

Max smiled. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it and I know Roxanne will too."

Max wheeled Roxanne into the house while Goofy and Mona carried Roxanne's clothes, get-well gifts, groceries and some items for her care. Max leaned down and adjusted the blanket on Roxanne's lap. "Are you okay, Rox?" he asked.

"I'm okay, Max," Roxanne said. Max noticed that his wife's voice was slower and quieter than it used to be as though she were trying to remember her words. Max squeezed Roxanne's hand tightly and he kissed her lips.

"Okay Roxanne honey," Mona said. "I'm going to take your temperature and check your blood pressure." Roxanne opened her mouth as Mona placed a thermometer inside.

"I'll go fix up some soup for ya, Roxanne," Goofy offered.

"Okay," Roxanne said the thermometer still in her mouth.

"You want some too Mona?" Goofy asked. Mona nodded as the thermometer beeped. Mona took it out and read it.

"98.6 normal," she said. "Now your blood pressure." She then wrapped the cover around the other woman's forearm.

"Roxanne, I'll have to go to work for a few hours then I'll go pick up Trixie at her day care," Max said. "Are you okay with that?"

"I'm fine, Max," Roxanne said.

"Are you comfortable?" Max asked. "Do I need to adjust your chair or give you extra pillows or blankets?"

"I'm comfortable," Roxanne insisted.

"And I'll have my cell," Max said. "You may not remember the number, but here it is." He gave her the paper. "If you need anything, just call or text me. You too Mona if you need anything. Dad's here too, so Dad will contact me as well. Got it?"

"I got it, Max," Roxanne said almost stubbornly.

"Okay, okay," Max said. "I'm going." He checked his watch and picked up his keys. He kissed his wife and said good-bye to his father and Mona.

"Max," Roxanne said frantically. Max turned to his wife. "Where are you going?" She asked worriedly.

Max could tell with his wife's pale expression and confused eyes that she had forgotten. He leaned down. "I'm going to work and I'm going to get Trixie," He said. "I'll be back in a few hours, okay?"

"You'll be back," Roxanne repeated.

"I'll be back," Max promised.

Goofy followed his son out the door. Max lingered by the door with a longing expression. "I'm not sure that I'm doing the right thing by leaving her alone," he said.

"You can't be with her every minute, Max," Goofy said. "You have a job to. You gotta keep working."

"Yeah I know," Max said. He sighed trying to keep his anxiety inside. "I'll be by your place too later with Trixie." He said. "Your electric bill is due and I'll get your supper ready."

"You don't have to, Max," Goofy said.

Max nodded at the house. "Dad, the soup is probably boiling over."

Goofy's eyes widened and he ran inside the house. Max shook his head. "Dad, I have to," Max said aloud.

Max's days were constantly busy and filled with tension. He woke up at 6:30 in the morning. He had a quick shower and shave and woke up Trixie and Roxanne. He helped his wife to get dressed, then assisted Trixie. He carried his wife and then wheeled her into the kitchen where he prepared breakfast for the three of them. He often quizzed Roxanne on what he was doing it so she wouldn't forget basic terms. ("Okay, Roxanne, what am I pouring?" It's umm, cereal and uh, mint no, milk!") They waited for Mona to arrive in the morning while Max dropped Trixie off at day care and headed for work.

For now, Max and P.J. mostly worked in the morning and afternoon news so they waited at the station until they got the call. The duo raced to the news breaks to cover the story. In the news van and sometimes after he was on the air, Max called Mona to check on his wife's status. Many times Mona was patient with the anxious husband, but she also had to remind him that she was a licensed certified professional and that she knew what she was doing. Despite the at-home stress, Max prepared as much as he could by studying the research and news reports, and interviewing the subjects, speaking confidently and clearly on the television. He hoped that at-home viewers would be under the impression that Max was cool, collected, and had no problems at home.

Max picked Trixie up from her daycare. The two would arrive at Goofy's house. Max collected any bills that needed paying, cleaned up after any extreme messes that Goofy made, and helped prepare his supper while Goofy played games or watched TV with Trixie. Max and Trixie returned home in the early evening. Max then released Mona and paid her for her services.

Max prepared dinner, cleaned the house, did the laundry, saw to Roxanne's medical needs, paid bills, played with Trixie, and helped her learn her letters and numbers. Max helped his daughter get dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and helped her get ready for bed. He then read to Trixie with Roxanne listening close by. Max realized that as Trixie learned to read and improve her vocabulary so did Roxanne. Roxanne read out loud trying to commit the words to her memory and recall them later. Reading together was also a source of bonding as Trixie was no longer afraid of her mother. Trixie even sat on her lap on the wheelchair while Max read to them.

After Trixie finally was put to bed, Max helped his wife bathe and dress for bed and the two would talk. Mostly Max would listen to Roxanne as she talked about some of the things that she did during the day, little achievements that she made, or little activities that Mona let her do to improve her hand-eye coordination. Especially Roxanne would talk about her anxieties and worries. "I never know what's wrong with me, Max," she said. "I'm also scared. What if I can never walk again?"

Max would assure his wife that everything would be okay, that soon she'll walk again, and everything will be back to normal. He never told Roxanne if anything bothered him like how occasionally he suffered from a tension migraine headache or that sometimes his stomach hurt and he suspected that it was an ulcer. He never told her that sometimes at night he was so exhausted that he couldn't sleep. That sometimes before REM sleep finally caught up with him, he jerked back awake convinced that he forgot something either at their house or at Goofy's and that it would take hours before he was able to fall back to sleep. Max considered buying stimulants, so he could remain active and see to everyone's needs. He never told Roxanne any of that. Instead, he just ignored his own needs in favor of his wife's.

One thing that Roxanne enjoyed doing with her husband was listening to his mother's journal. Max didn't know if Roxanne heard him read the journal while she was in her coma, but when Max told her, she was intrigued. He hadn't yet told her that he felt responsible for his mother's death or Roxanne's accident. Instead, he just told her that he found his mother's journal. He reread the previous entries and as he suspected, Roxanne was moved by the story of his parent's engagement and their early marriage.

"That is so romantic," Roxanne said. "Your mother sounded like a wonderful woman."

"Yeah, she was," Max said. "I'm finally beginning to know her."

Roxanne smiled. "You know, you're a great deal like her."

Max was confused. "Me? I'm nothing like my Mom. She was rich, pampered. Her parents were total snobs. I well, well I wasn't rich. I wasn't brought up by parents who ignored me. I'm definitely not married to a goof." Roxanne giggled.

"True," Roxanne said. "But you're both very passionate, have a way with words, and can be pretty stubborn when you know what you want, especially when you're in love." She chucked her husband on the chin. "You both also love a certain goof."

"Well she had a choice," Max quipped. "He's my dad. I have to love him." The two laughed. "Would you like to hear some more?" Max asked. Roxanne nodded as Max tucked his wife under the covers feeling a bit silly like he was reading to Trixie. But he knew that this made Roxanne happy. Max had to admit that he liked reading his mother's journal too. It made him forget his problems for a little while at least and allowed him to understand where he came from.

Max cleared his throat as he opened the pages, "Okay, here we are: _Goofy and I have been married for almost two years. I wish I could feel as certain of our marriage as I did on our wedding day, but I can't. In fact I'm angrier these days than feel like a happy woman in love…"_

"…. _.Instead I headed to the clinic because I'm afraid. As the door opened, a duck woman passed me by. She looks a bit like Della Duck, Donald's sister. But I am not sure whether she is plus she looks upset so I chose not to say anything. Besides it's not like I don't have enough problems of my own, so I just nod and greet her with a non-committed "Excuse me."_

 _I am observing some of the people in the waiting room. A pair of sparrows look excited as they are holding hands. A young doe fidgets clearly worried and nervous. I have a feeling that she is in a situation that she shouldn't be in. As compared to her, I'm probably lucky. Barely._

 _I keep thinking of Goofy. I wish I were in love with him as I was on the day we met, when we dated in secret, and we got married. But there is so much tension in our apartment that not only do I feel it, but Goofy does as well._

 _I know that a lot of our issues are my fault. I am having so many problems at work and they have spilled over into my personal life. I have been working at the Toon Town Talker for almost two years and I still just write the events calendar. I just compose events from press releases, contact sources for event information clarification, and compile it together on a calendar. Occasionally I do a filler feature article if there needs to be extra space. I should be glad that I have a job but I don't feel fulfilled in writing something that they sometimes give unpaid interns to do._

 _What angers me the most is that Nick Noseworthy started at the same time I did and he has been promoted twice since I started first as Section Head News Writer and recently got promoted to News Editor. When I confronted our editor, Ed Owlsner about it, he peered at me through his half-moon glasses and simply said that Nick was "the best man for the job."_

 _At my last performance review after I found out about Nick's promotion ahead of me, I mentioned that I wouldn't mind a little bit more responsibility. Mr. Owlsner looked at me and said, "Mrs. Goof when D.K. Owlson-" He always refers to the publisher D.K. Owlson in his tirades "-and I began in this business, we covered a war, Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, Dresden, Normandy, Hiroshima! We would have killed for a cushiony job like you have! D.K. Owlson now there was a writer! You just aren't the man for this job, Mrs. Goof! You're too soft. Girls like you are! You don't write about the real world, because you don't live in it! All you know is your marrying, cooking, and tending babies! I suggest you go do what you do best and gain more experience if you want to keep this job! That or write for the woman's page!"_

 _What could I say? I apologized and meekly left the interview wishing I could be more like Mr. Owlsner, or the male news writers, or D.K. Owlson, whoever he is. Maybe wishing I could be, I don't know a man._

 _I thought about what Mr. Owlsner said about writing for the so-called woman's page, the lifestyles section. That wouldn't be so bad per se. I don't mind reading the sections, but I was never interested in writing them. I want to write the hard news that people care about that change lives._

 _Besides I don't really fit in with the other writers for the Features/Lifestyles, especially the female writers. They are so fashionable, beautiful, and stuck up. When they walk by, I feel like Cinderella next to the Wicked Stepsisters. They walk by me and often giggle and laugh saying that they can't tell the difference between me and the male reporters._

 _They make me feel inadequate and hideous._

 _It's ironic, the male reporters look down on me because I'm a woman and the female ones look down on me because I'm not woman enough. I guess I am just the Pooch-Goof who walks by herself and all places are alike to her._

 _My stomach growls and as usual I ignore it. I haven't been eating very much lately, for over a week now. I go for a run or a jog in the morning to exercise. Then I_

 _examine my body up and down in the mirror keeping my eyes out for any fat or imperfections. I am getting round in the stomach and wish I could do something about it._

 _I should be above being so concerned about my appearance, but my insecurities have increased since the other employees have dismissed me. Every time one of them mocks me or Mr. Owlsner disregards me, I hear my parents' voices once again calling me "ugly" and "stupid." Apparently, they aren't the only one that think so. It's a common consensus._

 _As if work wasn't bad enough, everything at home is tense. It's funny, the things that I thought about Goofy that were so cute and charming when we were dating are sources of annoyance and embarrassment now that we are married. I come home to a messy apartment and usually some kind of havoc that has been caused. Goofy can be loud and hyperactive which while makes me laugh sometimes aggravates me when I come home and want peace and quiet. Then there are the more serious issues such as the piles of bills or Goofy constantly getting fired._

 _I knew that these were all problems when I married him and I knew what he was like, but it's one thing to tolerate it when you are dating. It's another when you are living together and trying to make things work between you. At least he's working right now at the Kicksack Hackensack Corporation mailroom._

 _Of course that led to a new problem. His office is near mine, so he likes to come by work._

 _Sometimes he comes in front of my work calling my name and bringing flowers. That wouldn't be so bad, but he often does more elaborate things._

 _Yesterday, he stood in front of the hot dog stand by the Talker and as soon as he saw me, he started singing "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker at the top of his lungs. A couple of my colleagues walked behind me and said, "Who is that? Is he drunk?"_

" _I don't know if I were his wife or girlfriend, I would die of embarrassment," another one said as they laughed._

 _I winced mortified and approached Goofy. "What are you doing here?" I asked through clenched teeth, thoroughly embarrassed.-"_

" _-_ What?" Max asked interrupting his reading to look at Roxanne's smug expression.

"Where do you get it?" Roxanne smirked innocently.

"Okay," Max grumbled realizing how his mother's embarrassment was so similar to her son's. Max rolled his eyes at his wife's expression, "May I continue please?" Roxanne waved for her husband to continue reading-

" _-You seemed so down, that I thought you could use cheerin' up," Goofy said sincerely._

 _He handed me a small bouquet of daisies. I accepted it, but sighed. When I get angry like this at Goofy, I feel guilty and ashamed. He does so much for me. He just doesn't seem to know when to quit._

" _Thank you," I said. My body swayed for a moment and I felt weak at the knees. I looked down at my stomach. I really was getting fat. No wonder they think I'm ugly._

 _Goofy looked concerned as he held me by the shoulders. "Are you alright, Penny?"_

" _I'm fine," I say._

 _Goofy nodded at the hot dog stand. "You wanna hot dog?" He asked._

 _It had been so long since I had a full meal, so even looking at the hot dogs made me nauseous. I shook my head._

" _Oh then do you want to go somewhere else for lunch?" Goofy asked. "Get some coffee or something?"_

" _No," I said. "I have too much to do. I have to work through lunch."_

 _Goofy looked a little disappointed. "Well what time are you coming home then? We can go out for dinner."_

 _I was getting irritated. Goofy was not only pestering me about eating, but he failed to account for our finances. "We can't afford something like that right now."_

" _We don't have to go anywhere fancy," Goofy suggested. "Just somewhere simple."_

" _We can't even afford that," I snapped. "We have a lot more important things to worry about like the electric bill that is past due, and the floor which somehow got a hole through it."_

" _What about the car that's in the shop," Goofy added. I winced. Okay, that one was my fault. I'm still trying to learn how to drive and I somewhat misjudged the distance between the shoulder and the ditch. The front bumper got the bad end of it. Right now, I am trying to work for a few weeks so I could afford enough to get it repaired. So Goofy and I either walk everywhere or take public transportation._

 _Money seems to be a constant source of conversation between us usually ending in another fight. Everything seems to cost so much these days. I never thought I would live to see the day when I had to struggle to pay for things that I used to take for granted like brand name foods. I know living below means is something to get used to when I marry into a lower social structure, but it seems lately that money is a constant presence in our lives. It hovers over mine and Goofy's heads all the time and makes us more irritated with each other._

 _I sighed. "Why are you so interested in us going out anyway? You went out last Friday night with your friends?" I didn't want to bring this up._

 _Goofy looked at me in surprise. I guess he thought that I didn't believe that he was with the gang. "I really was with Mickey and Donald, you can ask anybody."_

" _I know you were with Mickey and Donald," I said. "That isn't what bothered me!"_

 _I couldn't say what bothered me about Goofy hanging out with them. He would think it was stupid._

" _Well we weren't looking for women or nothin'," Goofy insisted. "In fact Minnie and Daisy were with us, and Pluto."_

" _I know," I said. "That isn't what bothered me either. I know you wouldn't have an affair."_

" _Well not with anybody especially with Minnie or Daisy," Goofy insisted. "You ain't got nothin' to worry about that either."_

" _That isn't what's bothering me," I said. "It's-never mind." How could Goofy ever understand what it feels like to be excluded? Like you didn't have any close friends? How could he know how it feels to be an afterthought where a tight group of friends make plans and forget to invite you or when they do, it's only because your husband invited you on your behalf? I feel excluded at work and now I feel excluded by Goofy's friends too. It seems that the only who accepts me is Goofy._

" _I have to get back to work," I said._

 _Goofy hugged me tightly. "Penny, come on what's troublin' ya? I can't help ya if you don't let me."_

" _It's nothing," I said. The hot dogs really were making me nauseous. About as nauseous as I was in the morning. I moved away from the hot dog stand. I felt something in my stomach. The nausea continued and I was confused. What did I have in my stomach to want to throw up? Was it PMS? That could explain why I'm so irritated, I thought, I mean apart from everything else that had been going on._

 _I considered. That couldn't be it. I was pretty regular with my cycle until fairly recently. In fact I hadn't had it in over a month- Then suddenly I felt cold and I moved away from my husband._

" _I um have to go back to work," I told Goofy. "I'll see you later."_

" _Are you sure?" Goofy asked._

" _Yes," I said. I moved away and turned to him. "I'll see you later tonight." I returned to the Talker before he could say anything more._

 _Now here I am waiting patiently for a doctor to tell me whether I am pregnant or not. I took an early pregnancy test and it was positive. I want to be sure. I have to be sure._

 _I look up as the door opened. The doctor is in private conference with a woman. He holds her by the shoulders and leads her out of the room. I start in surprise to see that she is Minnie!_

 _I hope that Minnie doesn't see me. But my hope is in vain. She looks right at me and she looks as stunned to see me as I to see her. I am about to mouth, "Minnie what are you doing here?" When I see that her eyes are red rimmed, I stop. She has been crying. Is she pregnant and she doesn't want to be? Or does she want to be pregnant and isn't? Either way, she doesn't look happy._

 _Minnie looks absently at me and at the door as though she is trying to decide whether she wants to talk to me or leave. She then turns to the door and shakes her head. Her whole body and face seem to say, 'I was never here. You never saw me.' I nod and lower my head as she leaves the clinic._

 _A nurse looks through her schedule and calls, "Mrs. Goof." I stand up and approach the door. Am I ready for the news, whatever it is?_

 _Well, I am on the bus heading for home. Dr. Maltin's prognosis rings through my brain. Congratulations, Mrs. Goof. You are pregnant._

 _I tried to force a smile, but I really couldn't. When the doctor showed me the ultrasound, I couldn't feel anything. I wasn't sure how to feel about this. The doctor noticed my hesitancy right away. "We can make arrangements to have this pregnancy terminated if this is what you wish, Mrs. Goof." He said. I can barely see his mouth through the gray bushy beard._

 _I lowered my head. I mumbled something to the effect that I would think about it as I left._

 _About a thousand questions and a million emotions spill through me at once. I am uncertain, anxious, worried, and scared. Goofy and I are going to have a baby._

 _Are we ready? I know we certainly aren't financially, but what about emotionally or physically? Are we even the parental types?_

 _I have no doubt that Goofy would be a great father. Sometimes when we go out walking, he often talks to the children or makes silly faces so they laugh. A few times in bed, he asks, "Wouldn't it be great to have a baby?" making subtle hints about he would like children one day. Every time he says that, I laugh and try to change the subject rather than argue._

 _I mentally smile picturing Goofy bouncing a baby on his knee, feeding it with a bottle, tickling it to make it laugh, sitting up with it and lulling it to sleep. He would never lose his patience with the baby. He would love the very life out of that little one. Yes, he would be a wonderful father._

 _I'm not sure what I would be as a mother. The only maternal influence I ever had in my life, Millicent Libertee-Pooch, was hardly considered motherly. Would I be critical, cold and abusive to my child? I always find faults in myself and lately in Goofy. Though I'm not as hard as Goofy as I am at myself. How hard would I be at my child?_

 _Tears sting my eyes making it difficult to write. I wish I could be happy about this. I wish I could feel a warm motherly sensation instead of fear and constant anxiety. Maybe if I can't feel happier about this, then maybe I shouldn't be a mother at all._

 _The bus stops. I check my watch. Goofy won't be home for another hour. I guess I have some time to think about it….."_

"…..Okay maybe I'm a bit like my Mom," Max said. He remembered when Roxanne first told him that she was pregnant; he had the same fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that she had. He didn't have his mother's abusive background, but he was concerned about whether they were able to financially care for a child since they were both starting out at the tv studio.

Max was also concerned about himself as a father. Unlike his mother, who didn't have a positive maternal influence to take after, Max had too positive a paternal influence. He kept comparing himself to his father. Would he be always involved, constantly bothering his child, embarrassing them and never giving them a moment to themselves?

Or would he be so determined to go the opposite extreme that he would be hard, strict, serious always trying to be too rigid to his child?

Those anxieties continued to fill him the nine months that Roxanne carried Trixie.

No matter how she and Goofy reassured him that the only thing that Max needed to be was himself to their daughter, Max wasn't convinced. He always added, "But I don't know what myself is as a father!"

Of course those anxieties changed when Trixie was born and Max first held that little baby in his arms. He couldn't imagine loving someone as much as he loved that girl right there. Looking at his newborn daughter with tears in his eyes Max made a vow, "I will always love you and I will always be the father that you deserve."

He wondered if his mother ever overcame her fears about her pregnancy. From Dad's description, Max figured that she probably did. Could that have been part of the reason why she spent so much time at work? Did she feel nervous or inadequate caring for her son? Did she ever overcome those jitters or did they multiply? What were her feelings when she held her son for the first time?

Max broke from his thoughts to hear Roxanne's scream. Alarmed, Max dropped his mother's journal and put his arms around his wife. Roxanne continued to jerk her arms up and down. "Max," She yelled. "What's wrong with me? I can't move my legs! I can't move my legs!"

"It's okay, it's okay, Roxie," Max said holding onto his wife as she sobbed in his arms. He kept telling her that it was alright.

When Roxanne's breathing slowed down and her emotions changed from anxiety to sadness, Max reassured his amnesiac wife that she had been in a car accident and that she would walk again very soon.

"You've said that before," Roxanne said sadly sounding almost like Trixie when she had a nightmare.

"Because it's true, Roxie," Max promised her. "Everything is going to be alright." He lowered her onto the bed and continued to hold his wife in his arms.

"Is Mommy ang'y?" asked a frightened voice. Max looked up to see his half-awake daughter standing by the bedroom door.

"What are you doing up?" Max asked her.

"I couldn't sleep," Trixie said rubbing her eyes. "I had a bad dream. Is Mommy mad?"

"No, she's not mad," Max said. He turned to Roxanne. "Are you Mommy?"

"No, I'm not," Roxanne said. "I'm fine, Kimmy."

"Trixie," Max corrected her.

"Isn't that what I said?" Roxanne asked confused her brow furrowed in worry.

"Yeah that's what you said," Max assured his wife to hedge off another anxiety attack. Max then looked up at his daughter and stood next to her. "Come on, you'd better get back in bed."

Trixie lowered her mouth in a pout. "Can I sleep with you and Mommy tonight?"

Max looked from his wife to his daughter. Roxanne nodded so Max sighed. "Sure, but don't wiggle okay?" He asked ruffling her hair.

"Okay," Trixie said. She climbed onto the bed and crawled between her parents. "Be careful with Mommy," Max said. He adjusted his daughter so she didn't cause too much friction or tension on Roxanne's legs.

With his wife's leg supports and his daughter's body, Max found it very difficult to become comfortable. Even when he did find a secure position, he was filled with worries about Roxanne and everything else. He lay in bed looking out the window hoping that his eyes would shut and watched the sky shift from blackness into the lighter blue signifying morning. He really needed to find a way to get some sleep.

"… _.Well, I didn't get the solitude, I hoped for, Goofy was home and we just had the Mother of All Battles._

 _I saw my husband cooking something over the stove. I looked closer to see that it was meatballs. He was humming to himself, so happy-go-lucky. I saw him standing over the kitchen, smiling that sweet smile like everything was alright with the world and nothing bad could happen. The only thing I could think about is why he was home so early._

" _Hi Honey," Goofy said. He greeted me with a kiss. "Want a meatball? It's my Pop's special recipe! I figure we can have it every Wednesday like my Pop and I used to!" He held the pan to my face and I felt sick, partly from not eating and also from the pregnancy. I swayed back and forth before I ran to the bathroom._

 _I didn't vomit, just released some slight bile before I walked back to the kitchen. "You're home," I sighed. "Let me guess, you got fired again." He looked sheepish while I sank down near the kitchen table. "What happened this time?"_

" _I had some problems with the copier," Goofy said. "I made too many copies."_

" _That's not too bad," I said._

" _About 10, 000," Goofy said._

" _What?" I asked. "Then what happened?"_

" _Well the copies went flying out right into the boss' office," Goofy said. "Then broke the window….then, spilled out into the ground from three stories."_

" _George," I said through clenched teeth. "I cannot keep doing this."_

" _What?" Goofy asked._

 _I stood and waved my hands around the apartment. "This! The constant unemployment, the money problems!"_

" _Well I'm trying my best," Goofy said. He approached me and tried to kiss me. "Come on, Penny. I'm sorry."_

 _I pulled away from my husband. "And there's that too! You're always smothering, embarrassing me at work! You keep asking what I'm doing, wanting to get in my business! I can never get a moment's peace without you in my face!"_

" _I'm sorry, Penny," Goofy said. "But you're always so down and I want to help you. What's going on with you?"_

" _You wouldn't understand," I said._

" _Don't tell me I wouldn't understand," Goofy insisted. "I ain't stupid!"_

" _I never said you were," I said feeling guilty. "I'm just, oh, forget it. I'm having trouble at work and I'm…." I was about to mention that I was pregnant, but wasn't sure if_

 _I wanted to add with our stress. "I feel stuck at my job writing the calendar, and my boss_

 _is making me feel like I'm not as important as the male writers."_

 _Goofy nodded sympathetically. "Well no wonder you're upset! You're a good writer. You could always find work somewhere else."_

 _The dizziness and the irritation overwhelmed me and I began to laugh. I think Goofy was afraid of me. Truth be told, I was afraid of myself. "Quit my job?" I asked. "You think I should quit my job?" I laughed again. "You're absolutely right, what a brilliant idea! Why don't I quit my job? Then we can both be unemployed and lose our apartment, maybe we can starve!"_

" _I just thought," Goofy said._

" _No you didn't," I reminded him. "That's the problem. You act, but you don't think about the consequences! You cause problems at work and you get fired and I end up having to be the one to support us! I am so tired of being the only adult in the house! The trouble is you get so distracted and then you cause trouble! Oh, you mean well always, but you get bored so easily! Why don't you find a job you're good at and keep it! That way I don't have to be upset and I don't have to feel that I live with a giant kid!"_

 _Goofy blinked like he had been slapped. I felt terrible, but I still felt like I was right in my anger so I didn't want to take it back._

" _I can't help it, Penny. That's the way I am. That's the way I'm always gonna be and you know that about me. You always say that's what you love about me that I make you feel like everything's gonna be okay and that's why you married me."_

" _Maybe I made a mistake," I mumbled. I glanced at the meatballs. "Look George, I'm really tired and I have a headache, so I'm going to bed."_

" _You sure you don't wanna eat anything?" Goofy asked concerned. "You haven't eaten much in a few days now."_

" _Yes, I'm sure," I said. Before he could say anymore, I walked into our room and lay down. I furiously wrote everything down before I fell asleep._

 _I wake up and reach for my diary. The clock says I've been asleep for five hours. I reach_

 _For my journal to write all of this down including my recent argument with Goofy fresh in my mind. I hear a gentle knock on the door and Goofy's head peers inside. "How ya' feelin'?" he asks.._

" _I'm fine," I say._

 _Goofy nods. "You were out so I don't know if you heard but Mickey called." I nodded. I thought I heard the phone ring, but I was dreaming when I heard an annoying ring and thought it was that. I guess the phone bled into my dream. "He wanted to invite you, me, Donald, and Daisy out to dinner. He has something to tell us."_

 _I pale. "He asked to see me or did you ask if I could come?"_

" _Why are you so hung up on that?" Goofy asks._

" _It doesn't matter," I answer._

" _Anyway, Minnie said pacifically that she wanted you to come," Goofy says. "She said that she would appreciate it if you did." I remember Minnie at the hospital and how sad she looked . Perhaps she wants to confirm what I saw and wonder what I was doing there. Was I ready to tell anyone that I was pregnant? I haven't even told my husband! "When?"_

" _Tomorrow night about 7 at Tony's," Goofy answers. "I'll understand if you don't wanna come."_

" _No," I interrupt. How often do I get included in the group? Even though the thought of eating Italian food makes me gag. I remind myself that I would have to start eating again since I was eating for two, but I still am not sure how I feel about motherhood. Maybe I shouldn't bring this child into the world, if I don't feel sure about being a mother. I put my hand on my stomach and my womb. "I want to come," I say. "We should probably stay on a budget so no overeating and no extra appetizers."_

 _Ahh," Goofy says playfully snapping his fingers like a little kid._

 _I can't resist a slight smile. "But we can come."_

" _Well my stupid sister is knocked up!" Donald grumbled as he and Daisy sat down across from us. Mickey and Minnie hadn't yet arrived which I thought was strange since it was Mickey who called us together. Daisy said that Mickey was acting secretive but that he had to pick something up that was delayed, but that we can go ahead and order. Goofy gobbled down his salad. I gently picked at mine and practiced a trick that I learned. I chewed a little in my mouth then delicately put my napkin to my mouth and emptied out most of the food on the napkin so I wouldn't swallow. So far no one noticed._

 _Goofy and I turned to Donald digesting the news. Goofy was surprised to hear that, but I wasn't. So it was Della Duck, I saw at the clinic earlier._

" _That's wonderful," Daisy said and smiled._

" _Not when it's that loser that she just broke up with," Donald objected. "She no sooner told him than he celebrated his impending fatherhood by running off!"_

" _How's Della?" I asked grateful at least that I could never picture Goofy doing that to me._

" _Oh she's fine," Donald said even more sarcastically. "She has a nice place! She has my place in fact she's currently sleeping on my couch crying her eyes out as we speak. I told her that he was a loser! But you think Ms. Irresponsible would listen to me no! It seems most of my life I have had to pick up after her, it just makes me so-" Donald went into one of his characteristic squawks. He calmed down for a minute and said. "And get this, she asked me to be the godfather!"_

 _Smiles broke on our faces. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who had trouble picturing Donald as an uncle/godfather but at least he was somewhat financially prepared for it working as an assistant to his Uncle Scrooge. Daisy shook her head and put her hand on her boyfriend's. "Oh Donald, stop worrying. I'm sure Della and her baby will be fine. You've taken care of her as much as you possibly could and who knows maybe the baby will be a stabilizing influence on her. If not, I'm sure you'll do a good job with them and be like a father to them."_

" _And maybe Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical will start flying," Donald grumbled._

 _Daisy reassured her boyfriend as Goofy motioned me to look outside. It looked as though the Three Little Pigs had gotten tossed out of a nearby restaurant. "Next time pay your tab," the owner yelled. The pigs returned with "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bar Tab," as they flew. Goofy and I shrugged. Same old Same old in Toon Town._

" ' _Sides Donald," Goofy said. "Babies are great! We aim to have a whole parcel of 'em, don't we Pen?"_

" _Yeah," I said unenthusiastically. Is that what Goofy wants from me to be a baby machine? When I'm not sure that I even want this one?_

" _What about babies?" Minnie's voice asked. She arrived dressed as always so beautifully in her clothes. I think she will be a great designer or boutique owner someday. Right now she was an assistant at Clopin's Designs. I noticed that her voice was pleasant but sounded a little sad. I remembered her look at the clinic. Whatever it was still bothered her._

 _The others quickly put Minnie up to speed on Donald's latest. "Congratulations, Donald," Minnie said putting on a smile._

 _Donald mumbled. "Yeah for who?"_

" _Where's Mickey?" I asked. "Do you have any idea what this is about?"_

 _Minnie shook her head. "I don't know, he's been quiet for days. He wouldn't tell me anything and usually he tells me just about everything. But he did say he needed to get something finalized and to pick up something so he'd be a bit late." She looked through the window. "In fact he's coming now."_

 _Mickey came through the restaurant whistling "Zip A Dee Do Da" and waved at Tony and Joe behind the bar. Pluto pranced happily behind him. He then greeted us warmly. "Hi everybody how you all been?"_

 _Once we exchanged pleasantries and made our orders, Donald drummed his fingers impatiently just as much curious about Mickey's great news as he was to be distracted from his current problems no doubt. "Well what do you have to tell us?"_

 _Mickey smiled. "Well I have two great news. The first is this!" He slapped a contract down and grinned. We recognized the logo of a film company. "I showed our cartoons at the meeting to some executives, even some of the old ones and they want to distribute the lot!" Our mouths fell open in delight and happiness._

" _They want to buy them?" Minnie asked confused._

" _No," Mickey said. "That's the best part. They only want to distribute them! We will have total creative control. We should produce them together with the Princesses, the Heroes, and the other Animals and put them together under a collective name!"_

" _Well you're the main one who puts them together," Minnie suggested. "How about Mouse Productions? Or Mickey productions? Or Mouseworks?"_

" _Hey the rest of us work as hard as he does," Donald exclaimed. "How about Duck Tales?" Daisy nodded. "Or even Quack Pack" she agreed._

" _I kinda' like Goof Troop myself," Goofy offered. "I mean not just for me. They're goofy and silly!"_

 _Pluto barked a suggestion which Mickey translated "No we can't call it Paws Incorporated, that name's already been taken."_

" _Why don't we sit on the name and think about it for a while?" Mickey suggested. "Right now I need all of your signatures on this contract to make it official?"_

" _Why ours?" Daisy asked._

" _I want you all to be part owners of the company," Mickey encouraged. "We can still continue with our career paths, but I want all of you to at least have a piece of the excitement! We can work on them together!" The five of us exchanged excited goofy grins. Mickey held open the contract and called out like a carnival barker. "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen fame and fortune is on its way!" Minnie signed her name and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the lips, Daisy followed with a kiss on the cheek. Donald signed his name with a flourish. "You'll be okay if I just shake your hand!" Mickey nodded and accepted a hand clasp from his friend. Pluto stepped up and put an inked paw for his name then practically licked Mickey's face off to which Mickey laughed and patted him on the head, Goofy then signed and gave his friend a big bear hug. When it was my turn, I noticed something missing. "There are only six spaces for signatures." I said mechanically. I slid the contract over to Mickey. I couldn't believe it. Pluto was a dog and he got a signature but I was left out!_

" _I'm sorry, Penny," Mickey said. "But you said so yourself that you weren't interested in doing our movies. You're never there when we do them, and it never occurred to me that-" He forced a smile. "Hey I could put a line for your name or have them draw up a new contract."_

 _My eyes winced but I forced myself not to cry. Once again I was excluded from the group. "That's okay. You're right, you know me a total wreck in front of the camera," I said with a fake smile. "I'll make sure you'll get plenty of free publicity from the Talker."_

" _Are you sure you're alright, Penny?" Goofy said. "Hey with this we'll have more money and we can finally have a family!"_

" _Sure," I said._

 _Mickey held up a finger. "Which actually leads to my second surprise. This one is just for Minnie." He reached into his pocket, "I wanted to wait until your birthday next month but I figured what the heck with this contract we will have more money than we know what to do with. We can finally have enough to live off of and start a family, so what I'm trying to say is-" He got down on one knee and held out a small box. "Miss Minerva Millicent "Minnie" Mouse, you have always been the love of my life. Will you marry me?"_

 _Minnie looked at a beautiful diamond ring that had three circles in the shape of a mouse head. Clever sweet Mickey even had made a small row of sapphires on top of the head to look like a hair bow. There was a silence as I looked around at the others. Donald and Goofy's smiles couldn't be wider. Daisy had tears in her eyes. Pluto panted excited and wagged his tail. Mickey looked happy, but nervous. He practically turned a bright pink. Minnie smiled and then frowned. Something told me that she was torn. "Oh Mickey," she sighed. "No." I'm sure mine wasn't the only gasp in the room._

 _Mickey stood up. "Why not? Minnie we've been going together practically since we were kids. Everyone we know has us married already, we might as well be. There hasn't been a time when I haven't loved you."_

" _I know I love you too, Mickey," Minnie said. "That's why….I can't." She ran into the ladies' room barely gulping a sob._

" _We'd better go talk to her, " Daisy suggested. I nodded having a feeling about what was going on._

 _We left the boys alone wondering about the phenomena of women having to go to the ladies' room together._

 _Daisy and I found Minnie facing the mirror crying her eyes out. Daisy wrapped her arms around her best friend in a hug. I rubbed her back and also hugged her. "Okay," Daisy said. "It's just us girls now spill."_

" _I can't marry Mickey," Minnie sobbed._

" _Why not you don't love him anymore?" Daisy asked. "Why don't you want to marry him?"_

" _No I want to marry him," Minnie said. "I just can't marry him!"_

" _Well I can't think of any other reason why except-" Daisy said. Then her eyes widened. "Oh my god, you're married to someone else!"_

 _Minnie stared at Daisy confused. "What? No!"_

" _Then what other reason is there?" Daisy asked._

" _I think I know," I said. I have her a wordless look to say is it alright if I mention it? She nodded. "You're pregnant aren't you? I saw you at the clinic."_

" _And Mickey's the father!" Daisy said. "No that would be more of a reason to marry him! Someone else is the father!"_

 _Minnie shook her head. Sometimes Daisy gets too melodramatic for her own good. "You watch too many soaps, Daise." Minnie said at least finding some humor. "No, in fact it's just the opposite. Alright, I will tell you but you have to promise it's between the three of us." Daisy and I nodded. Just like old times. "I had been feeling funny lately. At first I thought it was the flu bug going around but I remembered…well Mickey and I we aren't always careful when we…well I mean we're faithful to each other so there's no worries about catching anything, so sometimes we forget to and a couple of months ago we did. My cycles aren't always regular, so that wasn't unusual, but I thought maybe this time there was a reason. So I went to the clinic and I thought I was pregnant, but the doctor said that I wasn't. In fact, he told me that there was no way ever that I can be."_

" _Well maybe he was wrong," Daisy suggested._

" _He did a full examination," Minnie said. "And I went to another doctor to get a second opinion." She shrugged. "I'm barren."_

" _I'm sorry, Minnie," Daisy said hugging her friend._

" _That doesn't mean that you two shouldn't get married," I suggested. "You could always adopt or hire a surrogate, or you know there are childless couples out there. That doesn't mean you won't be happy."_

" _I know but having children means so much to Mickey and to me," Minnie said. "We have talked endlessly about it. Mickey lost his family at so young an age and I have always wanted to be a mother one day. Now for Mickey to find out there's no way…."She trailed off her voice in tears._

" _There is always a way," Daisy said. "You just have to tell him. I'm sure you can work it out."_

" _Absolutely," I said. "You two are so happy together. I have never seen a couple more in love."_

 _I guess Minnie must have caught some jealousy in my voice because she looked right at me. "Penny, what were you doing at the clinic?"_

 _I was about to lie and tell her I was working on an article about expectant mothers but the secret had been buried in my chest so long that I wanted to let it out. "I had a similar reason to be there but it was the opposite result. I am pregnant."_

 _Daisy squealed with delight. "Unbelievable that is so great! One of us is having a baby I mean really having a baby I mean-" She then looked to Minnie. "I'm sorry Minnie I mean-"_

 _Minnie smiled. Her earlier sadness was gone. "No it is wonderful news! Congratulations Penny! And to Goofy."_

" _I haven't told him yet," I said. My friends asked me why so I finally spilled about our marital problems, financial difficulties including my stalled job and Goofy getting fired from his job, and my ambivalence about being a mother. "I'm not sure that I'm ready to have it or that I even want to have it."_

 _Minnie smiled thinly as she attempted to dry her eyes. "It's funny, both you and Donald are about to be parents or godparents and you aren't sure that you want to be. Here Mickey and I want to be parents more than anything, and if he marries me, we can't. You know no matter what we try to sell with our movies and cartoons, the image we try to be and what we are soon going to put out to the world, the truth is nobody lives happy ever after because nobody ever truly gets what they want. They only make people feel good for a little while that such things are possible, even if it isn't always so." Daisy and I nodded. I will certainly have to agree. Minnie agreed to talk to Mickey about the doctor's prognosis but wasn't sure about accepting his proposal yet. The three of us left the Ladies' room together._

 _The three of us stood and listened as the guys talked. Donald was clearly still worried about his sister's pregnancy and Goofy tried to reassure him. Mickey was half-reassuring Donald and half-looking at the bathroom door concerned about Minnie. Pluto had his head on Donald's lap as if trying to assure him in his own way._

" _It ain't that big a deal, Donald," Goofy said._

" _Yeah looking forward to the whining, the crying, the 3:00 feedings, the death of a social life," Donald moaned._

 _Mickey looked confused. "Donald you're their uncle, not their father. Della will be the one doing most of that."_

 _Donald glared at Mickey. "You have met my sister haven't you? I will end up doing most if not all of it."_

" _Is that really so bad? "Goofy asked. "I mean yeah it's a lot of work, but at the end of the day there will be this little person that will love you and always be there."_

 _My eyes misted over and I thought of right then and there telling Goofy the news. Before I could Donald continued. "Yeah?" He said skeptically. "Why don't you have one then?"_

" _Well I want to have one," Goofy said. "Kids are great. I hope I have a million of them."_

" _I must admit I wouldn't mind being a father of one or two myself one day," Mickey said._

" _And Minnie and Penny want kids too?" Donald grunted. "I'm sure Daisy won't shut up about being an aunt." Minnie and I looked at Daisy who smiled and shrugged as if she couldn't deny it._

 _Mickey and Goofy exchanged glanced but Mickey smiled. "Sure Minnie does. She talks about being a mother all the time. She'll be the best mother there is!" Minnie gave a slight gasp and would have cried again but Daisy and I patted her on the shoulders._

" _And Penny wants kids as much as I do," Goofy said. "I'm sure she does. Anyway, even if she don't I can always get her to change her mind."_

 _I could almost feel myself fall through a crack in the floor. Was Goofy really saying that? Did he really want children so badly that he wanted to force them on me? Underneath all of that sweetness, klutziness, and silliness he was no different than the people I knew._

 _I nodded at the girls and we sat down next to them. Minnie had her head downward not looking at Mickey. Daisy held Donald's hand in wordless support. I glared at Goofy and just picked at the food on my plate._

 _I didn't say anything on the way home from the restaurant, I was too mad. When we finally stopped at the apartment I entered the door and angrily placed my purse and hung my coat on a hanger in the closet. Goofy just threw his coat on the floor. This somehow angered me more. "Could you please put your clothes away in the closet or in a dresser and not on the floor?"_

 _Goofy meekly. "I'm sorry, honey," he said._

" _You are so impossible," I glared._

" _I said I was sorry," Goofy objected._

" _It's not about the coat," I half-screamed. "How could you tell Mickey and Donald that we wanted children? And then you tell them that even if I don't you can change my mind," I said!_

" _I didn't mean nothin' by it," Goofy said. "I thought you wanted them!"_

" _I never said that," I said. "We never talked about it!"_

" _Because you won't talk about it! "Goofy snapped. "Every time I bring it up you change the subject!"_

" _What makes you think I even like children?" I asked._

" _Because I see you with them," Goofy said. "At the Iwerks' Home, when we're at the park, or with Mickey's nephews. You talk to them and your face lights up and you have the greatest smile. You have such a pleasant voice when talking to them. I picture you singing them lullabies and you are such a warm loving person that I can't wait for you to share that with a baby."_

 _He leaned over to kiss me and I wanted to receive him. I really did. But I remember my earlier anger and pulled away. "Goofy, no you can't just sweet talk me and kiss me and make it better! You are trying to decide my life for me! You want me to want to have children, because you do! I spent my whole life like that with other people making decisions for me! I thought you were different than them!"_

" _I am," Goofy said. "I want kids more than anything in the world, but I only want them when you're ready."_

" _What if I never want them?" I ask. "What if I decide that I would rather have a career and a childfree home? Would you be alright with that?"_

 _Goofy looked downward and I could tell his answer was no, so I continued. "Goofy, look around. Do you really think this is a good home to raise a child in with money problems, and two parents who are constantly angry with each other?"_

" _My Dad and I never had much money and neither did my Pop and me when I moved in with him," Goofy reasoned. "If there's love there it can survive any ob-stack-le."_

" _Maybe love can't survive when people are too different," I suggested. "Maybe a child would only make things worse." I hesitated before I answered. "Maybe, we want too many different things and maybe we can't make them fit. George, maybe we should separate for a little while."_

 _Goofy looked wounded. "You serious?" he asked._

 _I nodded. "Just long enough to think things over."_

" _I'll spend the night at Mickey's," Goofy said. He walked into the bedroom and picked up a few things. As soon as he emerged from the bedroom, his suitcase was packed haphazardly with clothes bulging out of it. "Penny, promise me that while I'm gone you'll eat something," he said._

 _I started. I didn't realize Goofy had paid attention. "What are you talking about?"_

 _Goofy dropped his suitcase. "Come on, Pen, I ain't blind. You always make some excuse about not having dinner, you're too busy, too tired from work. I hadn't seen you eat in front of me in over a week now and I saw what you did at Tony's, putting the food on your napkin. It ain't healthy, Pen."_

 _I felt my stomach growl and my head feel light, but I kept picturing myself fat and enormous. No I have to continue. "I'm just under a lot of pressure and I haven't had an appetite that's all." I said._

" _For nearly two weeks?" Goofy questioned. "I'm worried about ya! I don't want you starving yourself. I don't even know why you're beautiful!"_

" _No, I'm not," I said. "All I see is this ugly gangly awkward thing."_

" _That ain't what I see," Goofy said._

" _Well you see things differently," I said. "I thought you were leaving."_

" _I ain't gonna leave until you promise to eat something," Goofy insisted._

 _I sighed. "Alright, I will," I said. Goofy looked at me with those sad pleading eyes. I couldn't say anymore to him, so I turned around and headed to my bedroom and shut the door. I heard the front door close behind me. I leapt up, "George I think we're making…" I said but the empty living room was my only answer…_

… _.. Well I hadn't had much energy to write lately. I've been spending most of my time at work working on the calendar and filler articles. I don't talk to my colleagues except to hand them the copy and leave for the day. When someone asks me what's wrong, I just glower and say that I just want to be left alone._

 _The apartment seems bigger and emptier without Goofy around. He calls every night, but I hang up the phone not ready to talk to him. I thought about breaking down and eating something like I promised. I even bought a small cobb salad and sat with it on the table, moving it up and down on my fork. My stomach stopped growling a long time ago, or I just ignore it I'm not sure which. I can also somehow feel the other presence inside, it wants to eat too. I hold the fork up to my mouth, but then think. I can't control my job when I'm stuck. I can't control my body, because I am unexpectedly pregnant. I can't control my marriage, now that my husband's gone. I may end up a single mother!_

 _I'm powerless, more helpless than when I lived with my parents. Would my life always spin out of control? I thought I could make it without them and now here I am in worse shape than ever! I can't handle anything except what I eat, and how much I eat. I sigh, pick up the cobb salad, and besides being aware that I just wasted food, I throw it in the trash uneaten._

 _I lay down on the couch and hug one of the decorative pillows. No I can't be a mother. I am already jeopardizing the life of my baby by not eating. So, what difference does it make if it doesn't exist anymore. I think about what Dr. Maltin said when I first met him: We can make arrangements to have this pregnancy terminated if this is what you wish, Mrs. Goof. I have always been pro-choice, maybe it's about time I made one._

 _I weigh the pros and cons in my head until I can't think anymore. Was it fair for me to have an abortion without telling Goofy? He is the father and he wants children. What if this is his only chance to have them? What about me? Will I be able to raise this baby on my own? The arguments ring in my head until I'm too dizzy to think about it. In fact, I'm getting too dizzy to write. Maybe I'd better sleep on it and think more about it tomorrow…._

… _. Thank you to any God who's listening that Daisy gave me my journal! I was about to die of boredom in this hospital bed. Of course after the past couple of days of anxiety and worry, I could use some time to think but too much of it can be tiring._

 _Wow a lot did happen and made things much clearer in my life. I love my husband and I love our baby, love our friends, and I'm even beginning to love myself a little more._

 _Let's see where we left off, I was depressed because I forced Goofy and I to separate, I wasn't eating properly, and considered having an abortion. You never realize what it takes to realize how important things are and how much people mean to you. I knew that when I saw the flames at the Iwerks Children's Home and panicked that Goofy was inside them._

 _I was writing one of my filler articles and inside the news room was simply Mr. Owlsner and myself. All of the other news writers were on assignment. It was so quiet that I heard the click of the heels of Mr. Owlsner's secretary, Maria More, outside the room. "Mr. Owlsner," she said breathlessly. "There's a story on the teletype, a big one!"_

 _Mr. Owlsner ran to the teletype and hollered so loudly. "There's a big fire at the Iwerks' Home!" I sprang up. This didn't sound good. My heart broke for those kids, Mr. Oswald, Mrs. Ortensia, and Miss Alice._

 _Mr. Owlsner looked around to see if anyone was there. "All my best writers are out!"_

" _Let me do it, Mr. Owlsner," I said grabbing my notebook, camera, and tape recorder. I felt dizzy from the lack of food, but I ignored it. Here was my chance and I needed to help the Children's Home. I confirmed what was no doubt going through Ed Owlsner's mind. "The Iwerks Home is six blocks away," I said. "I'm your only chance to get the story. Let me do it, sir."_

 _Mr. Owlsner. "Alright," he glowered. "But write like a man, not soft, squishy lovey dovey! Write like a reporter!"_

" _Yes sir," I smiled as I ran out of the news room and down the elevator._

 _I could see the smoke even before I ran to the home. Fire engines screamed as firefighters gathered to put out the flames. I got some statements from the fighters about the fire itself how big it was, the cause, and if there were any casualties. (Five alarm, faulty wiring, and no not yet but there were still people inside the building that they were trying to get out.)_

 _I ran through the spectators and tried to get a few comments while I took pictures of the fire as the fire crew worked. Even though I was worried about the home and the children, I did feel the reporter blood begin to boil on how big this news was. Not just the excitement but the anger. I knew the Iwerks building was old, but faulty wiring? Why wasn't the Toon Town City Council onto this? And where was Los Angeles County when this was going on?_

 _I saw Mr. Oswald and Mrs. Ortensia surrounded by a group of children. I called Oswald's name and he turned to see me, "Oswald, do you have a minute for some questions?" I asked breathlessly I realized that the excitement and lack of food was making me dizzy, but no I had a job to do. I couldn't back down now. "What happened?"_

 _Oswald glared and for the first time the normally calm easy-going sweet-tempered rabbit (except when 'his' kids caused trouble) was angry. "I tell you what happened," he practically spat. He motioned for me to walk with him. He let a couple of the children go, so he could be alone with me. He gave the kids a hug and Ortensia a kiss before he talked to me._

" _This building had been a death trap for years," Oswald swore. "I have taken it up with the City Council numerous times that we needed better facilities and they never listened. Oh sure, they put it through the meetings but they said it was a county problem and you know how the county is in helping us 'toons!" I knew Los Angeles County would take its time in helping if it ever did. "We tried to keep the place open. These kids wouldn't have a home if we didn't. But the roof had holes in it and the walls leaked. Let's not even discuss the wires." He motioned at the flames as though they spoke for him. "Just think it was during the Entertainment." I wrote as fast as he talked._

 _I started. "Entertainment? What do you mean?"_

 _Now Oswald looked confused. "I thought you knew-Goofy would have told you-" Obviously he didn't know we were separated. "Well Mickey and the others were doing an entertainment when the fire started." He nodded closer to the window where Minnie, Pluto, and Daisy were forming a chain as children were being carried out. I saw Mickey stick his head out occasionally to carry a child as Minnie gathered them. I ran towards them asking quick questions about what was going on. "Some of the younger children were trapped upstairs," Minnie replied. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are getting them and we're helping them get out of the building."_

 _I felt sick and began to hyperventilate. "Goofy no," I said in denial. "Where is he?"_

" _Him and Donald are still inside," Daisy said as Mickey jumped out with a child in his arms. Minnie and Daisy helped push him out as he coughed. "Donald's right behind me." True to his word, Donald appeared holding two girls who clung to him._

 _Both Daisy and Minnie held the loves of their lives as they coughed in their arms. My eyes filled. "Where's Goofy?" I asked frantically._

" _He was right behind us," Mickey said._

" _He went after Little Joe," Donald coughed. "The idiot ran off!"_

 _I tried so hard to continue working on the interviews but my mind kept drifting to the thought of Goofy inside that building as the flames began to finally lower because of the water from the hoses. More than anything I wanted my husband to live and I wanted his baby! I wanted to wrap Goofy around my arms and tell him how much I loved him, and how much I needed him in my life, how proud I was to be pregnant with his child._

 _I couldn't stop crying. I knew I had to be a reporter, but right then I was a woman who was worried about her husband and the father of her child._

" _Goof," a familiar strident voice yelled. I looked up to see Mr. Owlsner glaring at me "I knew you weren't the man for this job! You're not made for hard news if a fire is going to make you cry! You are too soft for this job-~!"_

" _YOU SHUT UP!" Daisy yelled at Mr. Owlsner. "Penny is doing her job! She interviewed people and she is working on her article! Her husband happens to be in that building and she is worried about him! She is not just a reporter, she is a person and she is allowed to have feelings! Reporters are supposed to care about their subjects and Penny does that! If you had any decency or compassion you would see that in her!"_

 _I smiled at Daisy. We will never have what Mickey, Goofy, and Donald or even what she and Minnie have-years of friendship that evolved to a close family, but I will always be grateful for what we do have and right then how Daisy stood up for me. I mouthed thank you and she mouthed you're welcome back at me._

 _Mr. Owlsner sputtered and looked embarrassed. "Alright, carry on then, Goof," he said as though that were his original thought._

" _Yes sir," I said as two firefighters emerged with a tall lanky figure between them, a familiar figure. "George," I ran to my husband happy tears filling my eyes._

 _In Goofy's arms was a small young male kitten boy. "Here's Little Joe," Goofy said between coughs. He handed him to Mrs. Ortensia and Mr. Oswald who hugged the little boy. The paramedics lay Goofy on a gurney and put an oxygen mask on him. "Is he going to be okay?" I asked._

" _He has tremendous smoke inhalation," said the attendant. "We have to take him to the hospital."_

" _You idiot," I said to him with tears in my eyes. "You have to promise you will never do something so stupid, again!"_

" _I had to save those kids," Goofy said._

 _I touched my womb. "What about this kid? Don't you think our baby should see its father?"_

" _Well I figured he'd be okay and-" Goofy began, but then the full meaning of what I said hit him at once. "You're pregnant?" I nodded happily. "I'm going to be a Dad!" He cheered. "I'm gonna be a dad! She's gonna be a Mom!" He was about to leap from the stretcher when the paramedics held him down._

" _That's great Mr. Goof," one said amused. "But lie down, so you can be looked after."_

" _I'll lie down, I'll lie down," Goofy said. "I'm gonna be a dad!"_

" _I'm coming with you," I insisted. "I have to be with you in the hospital. Oh wait-"I looked towards the direction of the Talker. "I haven't finished the article. I haven't typed or copyedited it yet. I can get someone else to finish it-"_

" _-No Penny," Goofy said. "You do it, you're here. That building ain't right and we all know it. Don't let what happened to us happen to anyone else. I'll be alright for a little while."_

" _I'll come to you as soon as I finish," I promised. I gave the paramedics the Talker number and to give me any information about Goofy's condition immediately._

 _I must have won an award for the fastest time to get an article typed, copy edited, posted, photographs to be developed, and the article to get put in the paper and to bed. Nick was putting the finishing touches with the News section as I finished. "Hey Penny," Nick said. "Heard it was a good story."_

 _I stopped to catch my breath feeling the dizziness and sickness fill my entire body. I ignored it for too long. "Yeah," I said breathlessly. "Now I am going to be at the hos-uh hospital to be with-huh-my husband-" That was far as I got when the room spun around and I saw lights around my eyes before I collapsed._

 _I woke up and realized that I was in the hospital. I lay in a bed with a nurse and Dr. Maltin standing over me, as well as a lioness doctor that I didn't recognize. "No," I said. "I have to see my husband," I begged. "Where is my husband?"_

" _He's fine, Mrs. Goof," Dr. Maltin said. "He's in the burn unit. They are investigating right now as we speak."_

" _Then why am I here?" I asked._

" _Because you fainted at work Mrs. Goof and your co-worker Nick Noseworthy called it in," the female doctor said. "My name is Dr. Hightower and I work with psychiatric problems, specifically eating disorders."_

" _Eating disorders?" I said. "No, I don't have that. I don't know what you are talking about."_

" _Mrs. Goof," Dr. Maltin said. "Your last exam showed that you were dangerously underweight. That is not only harmful for you but for the baby you are carrying. It needs nourishment. If it doesn't it could be born premature and underweight. It may not be born at all."_

 _I touched my womb. When I wasn't sure whether I wanted the baby or not, it never occurred to me that I was doing any damage to the baby by not eating. Now that I knew that I wanted it, I felt horrible. Was I secretly trying to abort this baby on my own by diminishing its chances for survival? "I'm terrible, horrible. I don't deserve to have this baby or my husband!"_

" _Sure you do, Penny," a familiar voice said. I looked up to see Goofy. He was in a hospital gown and tied to an oxygen tank to help him breathe because of the some inhalation. Doctors and nurses ran frantically after him._

" _George," I said with tears in my eyes. "I'm so sorry." Goofy ran towards me knocking the tank down. He hugged and kissed me as we both apologized for all the things we did and said to each other._

" _Mr. Goof, please return to your room right now," a nurse commanded._

" _Gawrsh, okay, see you later honey," I waved at my husband._

 _Dr. Hightower and Maltin smiled at my retreating husband. "I don't know why but I love him so," I said with laugh. "Okay I do know why. I want to have this baby and I want to eat again."_

" _That's a good first step, Mrs. Goof," Dr. Hightower said. "But we need to work out the reasons why you were starving yourself."_

" _I was under a lot of stress and dealing with pressures at work and in my marriage," I said._

" _Yes but many have that problem, Mrs. Goof," Dr. Hightower. "What we need to figure out are the root causes of your anorexia nervosa and why you chose to act as you did."_

" _Plus, you need to get your weight back up to normal for yourself and the baby," Dr. Maltin added._

" _What do you suggest?" I asked._

" _We think that you should spend some time in an Eating Disorder Clinic," Dr. Hightower said. I was about to object but she continued. "I'm the main physician so I will be with you every step of the way. We will have counseling sessions and talk about your problems and get you slowly to start eating again."_

" _Can I have visitors?" I asked._

 _Dr. Hightower smiled. "I have a feeling that we couldn't keep your husband from visiting if we tried."_

 _I laughed. "You probably couldn't."_

" _You may have visitors but you don't want to overexert yourself, so not too many," she said._

" _Well I will have to take some time off at work," I said._

" _That has already been arranged, Mrs. Goof," Dr. Maltin said. "Your editor, Mr. Noseworthy was concerned and he informed your editor-in-chief."_

" _Well that's a relief," I said. "Okay, I'll do it anything for my baby and my husband."_

" _Don't do this just for them," Dr. Hightower said. "Do it for yourself." ….._

… _.. Well that puts me up to speed. I am sitting in the Disorder Clinic writing in my journal. Dr. Hightower has been very helpful. I told her about my parents and how they made me feel as a child. She made me see that I was still carrying their opinion of me even though I was married and independent, that I was still trying to measure up to their expectations. She reminds me that I don't have to be perfect and that I should allow myself wiggle room to make mistakes._

 _And I have been eating. At first, I had been getting the liquids pumped into my body intravenously, then taking supplements that had the vitamins and minerals that my body lacked. Now I am finally eating solid food, beginning with little meals like salads, bread, and soup. Dr. Hightower said my weight is finally getting there._

 _Of course I have visitors, Goofy has been released from the hospital with a clean bill of health and he has been to see me every day. He gives me a kiss, flowers, and reminds me how much he loves me._

 _The others have also seen me. Donald and Daisy told me how much Donald is finally starting to look forward to being an uncle. "The little regret's going to need a fatherly influence," he said gruffly, but he smiled._

" _You'll be a good one," I promised Donald._

 _Mickey and Minnie also offered some surprises. Minnie showed me her engagement ring now prominently on her right ring finger. "We talked about it," she said with tears in her eyes. "Mickey understands and he loves me anyway."_

" _Did you really doubt him?" I asked._

 _The biggest surprise came from Mickey. He showed me a new version of the contract with seven spaces for signatures. "You're not just Goofy's wife or Daisy and Minnie's old friend," Mickey said. "You're my friend too. I'm sorry I've been ignoring you."_

 _I smiled and hugged him and signed my name to the contract. "I'm just glad that I have a great group of friends."_

 _I have also heard about the firestorm (pun not intended) that my article started. It made the front page of the Talker and received quite a bit of feedback. Many readers were disgusted at how the building had been in disrepair and wrote angry letters to the City Council and the County to have them look at it. The children and staff are currently staying in a temporary building, but it appears there may finally be enough pressure to have an entirely new building constructed that is up to regulation standards. I am so happy for them…_

… _. I finally returned home after almost a week at the clinic. I wasn't quite ready to go back to work, yet so Goofy and I lay in each other's arms on the couch just talking and laughing when the phone rang._

" _I'll get it," Goofy said. "Hello Goof residence. This is Goofy speaking ahyuck." He stopped and handed the phone over to me. "It's for you."_

 _I answered when I heard Mr. Owlsner's voice talk to me over the phone. "Goof, I want you at the Talker tomorrow afternoon."_

" _Yes sir," I said. "Do you want me to come back to work early?" I was confused. They said I could take another couple of days off._

" _No, you have been requested to have a private meeting with D.K. Owlson," he replied._

 _I practically fell over. D.K. Owlson, the publisher wanted to meet with me! What for? Had he heard about my fainting? Did he wonder about my health and thought I didn't have the stamina to be a reporter? No, Penny, I thought, remember don't think like that. Be hopeful. Be positive. "Okay, I'll be there," I said…._

… _Well to say the least, it was an interesting meeting. Not only that but the conversation between Goofy and me later made everything complete._

 _I appeared at the meeting dressed in my long olive-green skirt, blazer, and white shirt. Even though I was dressed professionally, I could feel my knees knocking for several minutes. I rode the elevator up to the highest level of the Talker building and told the secretary that I was here to see D.K. Owlson._

" _Yes, you've been expected go right in," the woman said._

 _I walked inside and saw a female owl sitting behind the desk. She was dressed in black slacks and a blazer and her dark hair was tied back. She was older, but reminded me of one of those old movie stars like Katharine Hepburn or Lauren Bacall, who still looked tough but glamorous. She was talking on the phone with a throaty voice that sounded like she once smoked too much. "Alright, Ed, sounds like a great idea, I'll talk to you later," she said._

 _I was confused. "D.K. Owlson?" I was embarrassed that I hadn't realized that D.K. Owlson, the publisher and Mr. Owlsner's writing partner during WWII that he spoke so highly was a woman!_

 _D.K. Owlson laughed and she looked at the nameplate on her desk. "Oh, I have to remember to turn this thing around once in a while. There." I read the nameplate that read. "Dorothy Katharine Owlson."_

" _You worked with Ed Owlsner during the war?" I said._

 _Ms. Owlson nodded. "Some of the most exciting times!"_

 _I was amazed. "I read some of the articles that you did covering both the Atlantic and Pacific Theatres. That was quite impressive that you were there writing for all the major events-"_

" _-Almost," Ms. Owlson corrected. "We arrived at Normandy on June 7, darn plane made us one day late! You sound amazed."_

" _Well impressed," I said. "All your articles were written as Dee Owlson, I never thought that you were a –"_

" _-Well neither did many of the soldiers I interviewed," Ms. Owlson said. "It was just easier to go under the name Dee and avoid any unnecessary complications."_

" _And you're the publisher so that makes you Ed Owlsner's boss," I said feeling like an idiot. "But he has, if you will forgive me for saying so, a very negative opinion about female news writers."_

 _Ms. Owlson laughed. She was obviously used to his behavior. "Ed Owlsner is a good editor. However, he is rather old-fashioned. He seems to think of me as the exception to the rule. It never occurs to him that the exception COULD be the rule. But he does a good job with the paper and he is my husband, so I have to live with it."_

" _Your husband?" I said with a laugh._

" _Well how else do you think he got the job," Ms. Owlson said with a wink. "I am just kidding. We are both good at what we do but we keep our professional lives separate. That's why I use my maiden name instead of my married one. Now you're wondering why I called you. Have a seat. Would you like a drink?"_

 _I nodded and looked downward. "Just a glass of ice water will be fine."_

 _Ms. Owlson poured and handed me the water. "I read your article about the Iwerks' fire as well as your other efforts. Not only that but you have quite a talent that my husband has not seen fit to promote. Am I right?" I didn't want to say anything, but something about Ms. Owlson made me want to tell her the truth._

" _No, he doesn't want me to write for the news," I said. "He thinks I'm too soft and feminine."_

" _Well we'll see about that," Ms. Owlson said. "How would you like me to personally suggest to Ed that you get promoted to the news team as a full-time writer?"_

 _I smiled. "Really you would do that?"_

" _Of course Ed Owlsner's word may be law down there," She pointed downwards at the news room. Then she pointed at her office. "But up here and at home, it's my word that gets the final say."_

 _I felt like flying. Here she was offering the chance of a lifetime. I wanted it so badly, but then I remembered. "Thanks Ms. Owlson, but it wouldn't be fair to you or the paper. I'll have to go on leave in a few months."_

 _D.K. Owlson smiled. "How long are you?" I was surprised. "I assumed when you wanted water even though we know what assuming makes. It turns out I was right this time."_

" _Only a month," I answered._

" _Well tell you what," Ms. Owlson said. "We'll work something out. You work for the news division, write your little heart out, until say you're sixth or seventh month. Then, you'll be at the copyediting desk, temporarily until you go on maternity leave. I could never live with myself if too much stress damages either of you. If after your little one is born, if you decide that your life is cribs, bottles, and diapers then my blessing on you and yours. But if you want to come back to the paper, then there will be a place snugly waiting for you in the news room when you get back."_

" _Really, you would do that for me?" I asked._

" _Absolutely," D.K. Owlson said. She looked at me almost like a mother to a daughter. "You see when I started, you were either a mother or a career woman. Many women made one choice, but I made another. I don't regret it, but well, it's never fair that women have to make that choice. You could be both."_

" _Thank you, Ms. Owlson, I appreciate it!" I said shaking her hand._

" _Call me Dee," she said._

" _Dee," I said practically dancing out of her office….._

… _.. I told Goofy about my meeting with Dee Owlson and he smiled and hugged me. "That's great, Penny! I always knew ya could do it! In fact, it fits nicely into something I've been thinking about."_

" _What?" I asked._

" _Well I thought a lot about what you said, about how I should 'find a job I love and stick to it.'"Goofy said._

" _George," I said. "I should never have said that. That was a terrible thing to say."_

" _But it had some truth in it," Goofy interrupted. "And you're right. I do get distracted easily. Maybe the jobs don't satisfy me. But I think I found one that might."_

" _What?" I asked._

" _Well I've been thinking about it since the fire and I was thinking about those poor kids who didn't have a mom or a dad to look after them and I've been thinking about our baby and how he will have both," Goofy stammered. "So I was wonderin' if it's okay with you that since you just got this job and you're gonna do great at it. That I can stay at home and take care of the little one!"_

 _I was surprised. "Really, George? For how long?"_

" _Until the baby's older, school maybe," Goofy said. "But I want to be there to feed him, and rock him, and help him sleep, tickle him and hear his little laugh."_

 _I had tears in my eyes. I could just picture George Goof doing that and he would be wonderful at it. "But George, people may say things, make fun of you calling you a wimp saying you're doing woman's work-"_

" _-Since when I have ever cared what people say about me," Goofy reminded me. "Come on Penny, you are always talking about femin-femmy-femalist! You are always saying that women can do anything a man can do. Well I'm thinking why can't a man look after his baby as good as any woman?"_

" _And why not," I said kissing him. "George Geef Goof, you will be a wonderful stay-at-home dad!"_

" _And you'll be the best writer and Mama," Goofy agreed….._

… _Goofy and I are lying in bed discussing names. "Why not George Jr.?" Goofy teases._

" _George, I grew up my whole life with Jr's. II's, III's and so on. I knew someone who was a VI! There's nothing wrong with that, but this baby should be his own person. At least as a first name. He shouldn't just be an extension of his family's names," I answer_

" _So what do you think?" Goofy asks_

 _I consider. Peter? No, James no too common. "Well it should be unique because this baby will be unique like his father."_

" _Or his mother?" Goofy says chucking me on the chin. "Yeah it'll be one in a million alright."_

 _The word rang through my head…million…million. That's it! "How about Maximillian?" I suggest._

" _Great," Goofy smiles "And for short we'll call him Max or Maxie!"_

" _That's our boy," I say "What if it's a girl?"_

" _Millie?" Goofy says._

" _Too close to Millicent," I make a face. "Nothing on Minnie but-" Goofy understands. It's the name of the woman who gave birth to me._

" _Alright Maxine," Goofy says._

" _That will work," I say stretching out and lie down ready for bed. We whisper good-night to each other._

 _Goofy then leans down to my womb and kisses it. "Good-night, Maxie," he whispers inside._

" _Silly Goof," I tease. "His ears haven't formed yet. He can't hear you."_

" _Sure he can," Goofy says as his head rests against my chest._

 _I smile. "Good night Maxie," I whisper to our baby. I rub my husband's head and think of how we almost separated. May I never do anything to hurt this wonderful man ever again!_

Author's Notes

Penny's boss' name Ed Owlsner is a tribute to Ed Asner who played Lou Grant on the _Mary Tyler Moore Show_ and did several Disney voices such as Hudson in _Gargoyles_ and Carl in _Up_. Dr. Maltin's name is a tribute to Leonard Maltin, film critic, Disney historian and the author of _The Disney Films_ , the definitive book of Disney movies. I used it for a recent blog of book reviews for books on Hollywood.

Goofy mentioned "Meatballs Wednesday" in the first _Goof Troop_ episode, "Everything's Coming Up Goofy." Like all traditions, it has to start somewhere

Tony's is the Italian restaurant that Lady and the Tramp (1954) go to for their famous spaghetti dinner. It is still staffed by Tony and his skinny buddy, Joe.

The design company that Minnie works for is Clopin's, named after the very colorfully dressed flamboyant Gypsy Narrator/Court of Miracles Judge, Clopin from the _Hunchback of Notre Dame_ (1997)

The way that the unnamed film company agreed to distribute the cartoons but gave the gang total creative control was similar to the arrangement made between Walt Disney and the original film companies like RKO that distributed his works and the later arrangement between the Disney Company and Pixar. (Yes I know that technically by this point Mickey and the gang have been showing their shorts and movies for decades before that. Pretend that up until they have only been showing them for friends, acquaintances and some of the Toon Town residents. This just means that they'll be showing them to the wider non-Toon audience.)

Of course the various suggestions for the name of their company are all titles of subsequent Disney TV series. Except for Paws Incorporated, which is Jim Davis' company that licenses Garfield and its merchandise.

Goofy's line "Kids are great, I hope I have a million of 'em." Comes from the Goofy short _Parents Are People_ which was also the debut of Goofy Jr. AKA Max.

D.K. Owlson was inspired in part by real-like war correspondent reporter, Dorothy Thompson and _Washington Post_ publisher, Katherine Graham. She was also inspired by Katharine Hepburn's character Tess Harding in _Woman of the_ _Year_ (my favorite Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn movie)


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